The IPL 2026 opening between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, March 28, will feature batting great Virat Kohli. With 657 runs in 15 innings at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71, Kohli was a key contributor to RCB’s historic victory last season.
The three-match ODI series between India and New Zealand at the beginning of the year was when Kohli was last seen playing. With a strike rate of 105.26 and 240 runs in three innings, the right-handed hitter had an incredible series. In the first ODI in Vadodara, the 37-year-old hit 93 off 91, and in the third one-dayer at Holkar Stadium in Indore, he scored 124 off 108 balls.
In the IPL, Kohli has several significant records. We look at five more T20 league records he can break before the 2026 season.
1. 1st player to score 9, 000 IPL runs.
Virat Kohli has already taken the record of being the highest run-getter in IPL history. He has collected 8,661 runs in 267 matches (259 innings) with a strike rate of 132.85 and at an average of 39.54. The retired captain of RCB requires 339 runs to be the first player to score 9,000 runs in the IPL history.
Rohit Sharma is now ranked second among the top run-getters in IPL. In 272 matches, he has scored 7,046 runs. Shikhar Dhawan (6,769), David Warner (6,565) and Suresh Raina (5,528) are next to Rohit.
2. First to get 300 sixes in a single franchise.
There are 291 sixes that Kohli has hit so far in the IPL. Surprisingly, his highests have been registered under a single franchise – RCB. In case he hits nine additional sixes, the star cricketer will become the first to have 300 sixes in one franchise.
Kohli ex-RCB opening partner Chris Gayle was the first man to hit 357 sixes in the IPL although he played in three franchises. Rohit has also scored 302 sixes in the T 20 league. Nevertheless, in addition to Mumbai Indians (MI), he has also played in the team of Deccan Chargers in the IPL.
3. Number 1 in most T20 runs at one ground (4,000)
Kohli already is a record holder in terms of the highest number of T20 runs in a single venue. He has 3,618 runs in 109 T20 matches and his average of 39.32 and his strike rate of 143.91 with four tons and 27 fifties in Chinnaswamy stadium, Bengaluru.
To become the first player to achieve 4,000 T20 runs in a single venue, the 37-year-old needs to score 382 runs in IPL 2026 in Chinnaswamy Stadium. Other batters whose 3,000 and above runs are at a single ground are James Vince (3,585), Mushfiqur Rahim (3,459), Alex Hales (3,241), Tamim Iqbal (3,238) and Mahmudullah (3,183).
4. Leader in 10 IPL centuries by a single player.
Kohli has hitherto hit eight hundreds in the IPL. Two additional tons in the 2026 version will see him become the first to record 10 centuries in the T20 league. Out of his eight tons in the IPL, four were in 2016 edition, two in 2023 and one in 2019 and 2024.
Jos Buttler is second among batters who have most hundreds in the IPL with seven tons. Moreover, Gayle has been able to hit six centuries, with KL Rahul having hit five. There are four hundreds of Shubman Gill, Shane Watson and David Warner.
5. First Indian to score 14,000 T20 runs
Currently, Virat Kohli has amassed 13,543 runs in 414 T20 matches at a strike rate of 134.67 and an average of 41.92, including nine centuries and 105 half-centuries. Therefore, the 37-year-old needs just 457 runs in the Indian Premier League 2026 season to become the first Indian to reach the 14,000-run milestone in T20 cricket.
Moreover, Kohli stands as the highest run-getter among Indian players in T20 cricket. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma follows in second place with 12,248 runs from 463 matches. Additionally, Shikhar Dhawan (9,797), Suryakumar Yadav (9,459), and Suresh Raina (8,654) round out the list.
