NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli is on the verge of scripting another historic milestone in the IPL 2026 match against Delhi Capitals on Monday, needing just 11 runs to become the first player to reach 9,000 runs in the history of the tournament. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru stalwart has been the face of consistency since 2008 and continues to deliver at the highest level even in IPL 2026.Kohli has already amassed 328 runs in just seven innings this season at an average of 54.66 at a remarkable 163.18, underscoring his ability to evolve with the demands of modern T20 cricket.
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Most runs in the 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, batting coach Dinesh Karthik praised Kohli’s relentless drive to improve.“To his credit, the man keeps reinventing himself with every passing year. And to keep up with the pace of this game, and some of the newer players are batting at crazy rates and he’s going side by side with them and producing match-winning performances. So I’m amazed at how he reinvents himself almost every year,” Karthik said.Karthik also highlighted Kohli’s meticulous preparation for IPL 2026 and behind-the-scenes discipline.“The guy comes back every year and evaluates what he’s done. And he almost comes with a very stubborn plan of how he wants to do it. And he doesn’t do it per se on match days, but also in the way he trains. And he has a method of how he goes about it and constantly checks himself in practice,” he said.He further added that Kohli’s approach in this edition of IPL 2026 serves as a masterclass for the younger players in the team.“And there’s certain days he’ll bat more, some days he’ll bat less. And he’s got so much experience. And it’s a pretty amazing and learning experience for any young lad watching that. As a young player, when you watch someone like Virat Kohli train, I think it’s mainly that they’re lucky, and at the same time it’s such a learning experience, even if he’s looking at a game closely, even if they’re looking at how serious it is. his practice and how he has a plan when he is working out,” added Karthik.
