Virat Kohli Set For Record-Breaking 2026 With Three Major Milestones in Sight

The year 2026 holds the promise of three historic milestones for Virat Kohli, potentially cementing his legacy as one of cricket's all-time greats. After a memorable 2025 that saw him finally lift the IPL trophy with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and win the Champions Trophy with India—plus finishing the year with two centuries against South Africa in ODIs—Kohli enters the new year in peak form and chasing significant records across formats.

First Milestone: 9,000 IPL Runs Kohli needs just 339 runs in IPL 2026 to become the first batter in history to reach 9,000 runs in the tournament. He currently sits at 8,661 runs from 259 innings, comfortably leading the all-time list. Rohit Sharma is a distant second with 7,046 runs in 267 innings. Kohli has played exclusively for RCB throughout his IPL career and has consistently scored over 600 runs in each of the last three seasons, making this milestone highly achievable barring injury.

Second Milestone: 15,000 ODI Runs Kohli is on the cusp of becoming only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to score 15,000 runs in ODIs. Tendulkar holds the record with 18,426 runs in 452 innings, while Kohli stands second with 14,557 runs in 296 innings. He requires just 443 more runs to cross the 15,000-run mark—a target well within his reach given his consistent ODI performances and India's busy ODI schedule in 2026.

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Third Milestone: Second-Highest Run-Scorer in International Cricket Kohli is just 42 runs away from surpassing Kumar Sangakkara to become the second-highest run-scorer in international cricket (across Tests, ODIs, and T20Is combined). He currently has 27,975 runs in 623 innings, while Sangakkara's tally stands at 28,016. This record could fall as early as India's first match of 2026 against New Zealand in the three-match ODI series starting January 11, making it a potential early-season highlight.

These milestones come at a time when Kohli, at 37, continues to defy age with his fitness, hunger, and consistency. With the 2027 ODI World Cup on the horizon and his focus solely on the 50-over format after retiring from Tests and T20Is, 2026 could see him add even more glittering chapters to an already extraordinary career. Fans and experts alike will be watching closely as the India great chases these historic landmarks.

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