New Delhi: Virat Kohli On his way to another historic milestone in the IPL 2026 game against Delhi Capitals on Monday, he needs just 11 runs to become the first player in the history of the tournament to reach 9000 runs. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru stalwart has been the face of consistency since 2008, and even IPL 2026, he continues to deliver at the highest level.Kohli has already scored 328 runs in just seven innings this season, at a strike rate of 163.18 at an average of 54.66, highlighting his ability to adapt to the demands of modern T20 cricket.
His numbers (a total of 8989 in 274 matches) are unmatched over the years, comfortably ahead of his contemporaries. Rohit Sharma and David Warner.
Most runs in IPL
- Virat Kohli – 8989 runs (274 matches)
- Rohit Sharma – 7183 runs (276 matches)
- Shikhar Dhawan – 6769 runs (222 matches)
- David Warner – 6565 runs (184 matches)
- KL Rahul – 5579 runs (152 matches)
Ahead of RCB’s clash against Delhi Capitals, the batting coach Dinesh Karthik Appreciated Kohli’s relentless drive to improve.“To his credit, the guy keeps reinventing himself with every passing year. And for him to keep up with the pace of the game, and some new players batting at crazy strike rates, and he’s putting up match-winning performances side-by-side with them. So I’m amazed at how he reinvents himself every year,” Carth said roughly.Karthik also highlighted Kohli’s meticulous preparation for IPL 2026 and behind-the-scenes discipline.“The guy goes back every year, and he’s figuring out what he’s done. And he comes up with almost a very rigid plan of how he wants to go about it. And he doesn’t just do it on match days but the way he practices. And he has a way of how he goes about it and he’s constantly testing himself in practice.”He added that in this IPL 2026 edition, Kohli’s style serves as a master class for the young players in the squad.“And some days he’ll bat more, some days he’ll bat less. And he’s got a lot of experience. And it’s quite an amazing and learning experience for any young guy watching. As a young player, when you see someone like Virat Kohli practicing, I think it’s first of all, he’s lucky, and at the same time, it’s like Virat doesn’t get a learning experience in the game. Up close and seeing him How serious he is about practice and what kind of plan he has when he practices,” added Karthik.
