It’s been 10 long years since Virat Kohli redefined run-scoring standards in the Indian Premier League (IPL), smashing a record 973 runs in a single season. In IPL 2016, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) reached their second final, captain Kohli led from the front with a batting display for the ages. He struck four centuries and eclipsed the previous benchmark of 733 runs, set by Chris Gayle (2012) and Michael Hussey (2013), surpassing it by a staggering 240 runs. A decade on, the record remains untouched.
However, if recent signs are any indication, that record could finally fall this year, and Virat Kohli might be the one to break it himself. The RCB star batter looks determined to raise the bar yet again. Even at 37, Kohli continues to look in supreme touch, and despite the debate over his T20 approach, he has consistently delivered in the IPL. Across the last three seasons, he has been in scorching form, amassing 639, 741, and 657 runs, an impressive 2037 runs from 44 matches. In IPL 2024, despite persistent questions over his strike rate, Kohli silenced critics by clinching his second Orange Cap.
This year, though, things look particularly ominous for opposition bowlers. Kohli enters the IPL unburdened, with his recent Test struggles behind him. Free to focus on the only T20 competition he plays, Kohli can fully unleash himself with the bat. With his sights set firmly on the 2027 World Cup, the IPL could well serve as a telling glimpse of what’s to come.
Kohli’s glorious comeback
Since his return to competitive cricket following a six-month break last year, Kohli has done little wrong. He has piled on runs in ODIs for India and in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Delhi. His scores in his last seven ODIs read 74*, 135, 102, 65*, 93, 23 and 124. Three centuries and just one score below 50. Add to that his knocks of 131 and 77 against Andhra and Gujarat, and the weight of runs only grows. For those who questioned his decision to step away from Test cricket, these numbers offer a compelling answer: 616. With his mind free and approach clear, Kohli is making the opposition pay.
Sure, Kohli may not bat like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson or Abhishek Sharma, but when he finds his rhythm, it remains a sight to behold. In his first intra-squad simulation game, he struck 45 off 19 balls, and with RCB entering the season as defending champions – and Kohli set to open – he appears to be a formidable force with 48 hours left for Friday’s opener.
“Virat Kohli. No doubt,” Jitesh Sharma, Kohli’s RCB teammate, said on the latest episode of the TRS Clips when asked who will win the Orange Cap this year. “I feel that he can break the record this year. The way he has batted lately for India, the things I am seeing, and the sound of the bat hitting the ball, it’s possible that this year – I don’t know what the highest is – he can break it and win the Orange Cap. He looks in proper touch.”
2016 was Kohli’s golden year in international cricket, much like 1998 and 2010 were for Sachin Tendulkar. And what better time than 2026, a decade on, to match, or even surpass it?
