Virat Kohli Surpasses MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma To Become IPL's Most-Capped Player — Check Top 10 Appearance List

Virat Kohli added another landmark to his glittering IPL career on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, becoming the most-capped player in the history of the tournament. By taking the field for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur, Kohli moved to 279 IPL appearances, overtaking both MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.

Dhoni and Rohit were tied with Kohli on 278 matches heading into the contest, but the RCB stalwart now stands alone at the top of the all-time appearances chart.

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What makes Kohli's achievement even more remarkable is that all 279 of his IPL matches have come for a single franchise, Royal Challengers Bengaluru. No other player in the top 10 appearance list has represented just one team throughout their IPL career. 

Dhoni played for Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiant, while Rohit Sharma represented Deccan Chargers before becoming a Mumbai Indians' player.

Kohli has now featured in every IPL season since the tournament began in 2008. From being picked after India's Under-19 World Cup triumph to becoming the face of RCB for nearly two decades, the 37-year-old remains one of the defining figures of the league.

He also continues to dominate the IPL record books with the bat. Kohli remains the highest run-scorer in tournament history with more than 9,000 runs, including eight centuries and 66 half-centuries.

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Even in IPL 2026, Kohli has remained central to RCB's campaign. The defending champions came into the KKR clash sitting second on the points table with 14 points from 11 matches and the best net run rate in the competition. Kohli is the franchise's leading run-scorer this season, despite back-to-back ducks in his last two outings. 

The record-breaking appearance came in the ongoing clash at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first before KKR posted 192/4, powered by Angkrish Raghuvanshi's 71 and a late unbeaten 49 off 29 balls from Rinku Singh. 

Interestingly, the IPL's top 10 appearances list consists entirely of Indian cricketers, highlighting the impact and longevity of homegrown stars across nearly two decades of the tournament.

Here's a look at the top 10 most capped players in IPL history:

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