Virat Kohli is, undoubtedly, one of the most celebrated legends of the cash-rich Indian league despite failing to win it even once. Virat Kohli has featured in each of the IPL seasons since the inception of the league. The right-handed batsman is the highest run-scorer in the IPL with a total of 6283 runs in 207 games with an average of 37.39. Here is all about Virat Kohli’s Journey In The IPL.
Virat Kohli’s Journey In The IPL
Virat Kohli, recently, announced that he will not captain RCB from the next IPL onwards. However, he will still continue playing for the Bangalore-based franchise. Although Kohli didn’t enjoy a successful run as RCB’s skipper, he surely had some historic moments as a batsman. Let’s have a look at Kohli’s illustrious career in the IPL so far.
A Modest Start (2008-2012)
Royal Challengers Bangalore picked a young Virat Kohli in the opening Indian Premier League season. Virat Kohli had a very humbling start to his IPL career. Having said that, Kohli’s stats only got better with each passing season. In 2008, Kohli merely scored 165 runs in 13 innings with an average of 15.00. His highest score in 2008 was 38 runs.
In 2009, Kohli experienced a similar run in the form of that of his first IPL season. Virat incised a total of 246 runs in 16 IPL innings with an average of 22.36. Kohli raised the bar with each passing year. In 2010, Kohli racked up a total of 307 runs in 16 innings with an average of 27.90.
Virat Kohli announced himself to the world in the year 2011. Kohli breached the 500 run-mark in the 4th edition of the Indian Premier League. Kohli scored a total of 557 runs in 16 IPL innings with an astonishing average of 46.41.
However, his form plunged in the following season as he managed to pick just 364 runs in 2012 with an average of 28.00
The Golden Run (2013-2018)
Virat Kohli became a household name by the year 2013. After playing an important role in India’s 2011 World Cup glory, a 24-year-old Kohli was appointed as RCB’s skipper in the 2013 edition of the Indian T20 league. Between the years 2013-2018, Kohli amassed 500+ total in 4 seasons.
In his first year as RCB’s captain, Kohli scored 634 runs in 16 IPL innings with an average of 45.28. Kohli saw a major downfall in 2014, as he only scored 359 runs in that specific season with a meek average of 27.61. In 2015, Kohli went back to sanity as he engraved 505 runs in 16 innings with a decent average of 45.90.
Then came the year 2016, a season in Kohli’s career that laid the foundation of his greatness. Kohli pulled off something which was far beyond anyone’s imagination. The Indian skipper orchestrated an implausible total of 973 runs in 16 IPL innings with an average of 81.08. Adding to that, Kohli counted 4 centuries during his eminent stretch in IPL 2016. A feat that is yet to be broken yet.
In 2017, Virat was restricted to playing only 10 IPL games. However, he still managed to chalk up 308 runs even with limited games under his name. In 2018, Kohli notched up 530 runs in 14 IPL innings with a brilliant average of 48.18
The “Kohli-Esque” Dip (2019-2021)
The last couple of seasons hasn’t been the best for Kohli, especially with team India. Having said that, Virat Kohli has become the victim of his own success. Fans can not digest an ordinary season from Kohli after everything he has achieved in his career so far. Kohli has failed to cross the 500+ run-mark since 2019, a total which is considered to be a benchmark for a successful IPL season from a batman’s point of view.
In 2019, Kohli scored 464 runs in 14 IPL innings with an average of 33.14. He also banked the 5th century of his IPL career in the specific season. In 2020, Kohli mimeographed his previous season as he plucked 466 runs in 15 IPL innings. In 2021, Kohli scored 405 runs in 15 innings as he captained the Bangalore-based side for the last time.
