Most Runs Scored in a Single Season of IPL

To some folks, the GOAT of the IPL is the guy who has lifted the most trophies in his career, while others respect the guy with the most runs in a single season.

The IPL player with the most runs in one season is Virat Kohli, one-time captain of the India national cricket team. The right-handed batsman set this record during the 2016 IPL, scoring 973 runs. So far, no one has broken that record, but a few guys have achieved a similar feat in one season.

The Indian Premier League has talented players, fantastic batsmen, and exceptional bowlers. Some have written their names in the sands of time by breaking and setting very impressive records. In this article, I’ll reveal eight IPL players with the same record as Virat Kohli starting in 2012.

Who Has The Most Runs In A Single Season?

Note: The teams here refer to IPL teams the players represented at the season they scored the most runs.

Most Runs In A Single IPL Season, Virat Kohli, 973 

Virat Kohli is the man with the most runs in a single IPL season and the guy with the most runs in the league’s history. Virat Kohli represents the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, a team he joined in 2008 on a youth contract.

He didn’t start well in his first year and scored only 165 runs in 12 innings. But things changed in the 2011 season when he scored 307 runs, making him the third-highest run scorer for RCB. In 2012, he got even better, hit 557 runs, and became the second-highest run-getter behind Chris Gayle by 44.

2016 was his big break. He won man of the tournament for the second time at the ICC World Twenty20 and bagged the season’s orange cap for scoring 973 runs and total runs of 6624. The only player with a score close to Virat is Shikhar Dhawan.

Shikhar Dhawan is one of the biggest names in IPL but wasn’t so famous until the 2004 U-19 World Cup when he scored 505 runs making him the leading run-scorer of the season. He has 6244 runs in 206 innings, second only to Virat Kohli, who has 6,624 runs in 223 matches.

The irony is that Shikhar Dhawan has never been the highest IPL scorer in one season. He was the second-highest scorer in 2020 and made it to the Orange Cap list in 2021, but he was in fourth place.

Jos Buttler, 863

Jos Buttler is the man of the moment following his performance in the 2022 IPL season; he scored 863 runs in 17 matches for the Rajasthan Royals, the most centuries in 2022.  He equaled Virat’s record of four centuries in a single IPL season.

The right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper made his debut for the England team in 2011 and has since become an important player in all three formats of the game. He is known for his aggressive batting style and has scored several centuries for England in both Test and One Day International matches.

Jos Buttler shined throughout the 2022 IPL season, but things turned sour for Rajasthan Royals at the end of the season. The team lost the final to Gujarat Titans at the finals, but Jos Buttler managed to get something for himself that season, the orange cap.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, 635

Chennai Super Kings, has an eye for good cricket players, and Ruturaj Dashrat Gaikwad is simply one of the exceptional ones. The 25-year-old only debuted in the international India cricket team in July 2021 but has been playing cricket since he was 12 at the Vengsarkar Cricket Academy.

Chennai Super Kings acquired him in 2018, but they couldn’t foresee him becoming such an amazing player. Ruturaj scored his first IPL century in October 2021 against the Rajasthan Royals, and CSK decided to retain him. The same season, he joined the big guys on the Orange Cap list as the player with the most runs in a single season; he scored 635 runs.

KL Rahul, 670

Whether it’s his signature smile or his fantastic gameplay at the IPL, KL Rahul knows how to keep his fans charmed. Unlike most players who have to play for ages before getting recognition, Kannanur Lokesh Rahul joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL in 2013, three years after representing India at the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

The same year he played at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, KL Rahul joined the Karnataka team and scored 142 runs in the tournament. He scored 337 against Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy 2014-15, which paved the way for him.  He was the team’s first triple-centurion.

From then on, scoring centuries within a season became a thing for the now Lucknow Super Giants player. He scored 659 runs in 14 matches in 2018, 593 in 2019, and 670 in 2020, the highest for the season while playing for the Kings XI Punjab. He was the club’s best batter but left for better opportunities and landed a deal with the Lucknow Super Giants.

David Warner, 692

One of IPL’s finest, David Warner, has scored the most runs in IPL three times, the highest in the tournament. He’s had an amazing run in the IPL, even though he’s banned from holding leadership positions in the league. The Australian international cricketer is rated as one of the best batsmen in India’s cricket, and the records confirm that.

David Warner is the first Australian cricketer to be chosen to play for a national team without prior experience. It could have been luck at that time, but the 36-year-old cricketer has proven his worth over time, shining throughout his 13-year IPL run.

In 2015, David Warner scored 562 runs and became the fourth Australian to win the Orange Cap with. In 2017, Warner won the orange cap again with 641 runs, and 692 runs in 2019. His 2019 performance is one of his biggest career highlights. He may not be such a great leader, but he sure knows how to score.

Kane Williamson, 735

Williamson is one of the youngest players to lead an under-19 national cricket for a world cup. He was only 17 then, but by the time he turned 20, it was pretty obvious he was heading to a blossoming career. He played for the New Zealand national team at the 2011 Cricket world cup, marking the beginning of an era.

The batsman was named the ICC Test Team of the Decade. His efforts paid off in February 2015 when he was signed to the Indian Premier League by Sunrisers Hyderabad. That same year, Kane set the record as the fastest player from New Zealand to score 3,000 runs.

Soon after joining SRH, he replaced three-time cup winner David Warner and led the team to the runner-up position in the 2018 IPL season. His team didn’t win the title, but he won his first orange cap with 735 runs in 17 matches.

His team won just three matches in the tournament, and Kane’s strike rate was nothing to write home about. SRH finished last in the tournament, but Kane snatched a lifetime record.

Robin Uthappa, 660

Now retired, Robin Uthappa debuted in the IPL playing for Mumbai Indians in the first season of the Indian premier league. He’s a pioneer IPL player like Virat Kohli, but he impressed his team from the start and scored 277 runs. For some reason, Robin played for four teams within six years, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sahara Pune Warriors, and Kolkata Knight Riders.

His performance at Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sahara Pune Warriors was poor. Hence, the teams could not retain him. He picked form at Kolkata Knight Riders, where he completed a treble by winning the Irani Cup, Vijay Hazare Trophy, and Ranji Trophy.

The right-handed batsman excelled in the 2014 season of IPL and scored 660 in 16 matches, the highest individual score that season and won an orange cap. This boosted Uthappa’s career, and the Indian team called him for the ODI series tour to Bangladesh.

Michael Hussey, 733 

Michael Hussey, also known as Mr. Cricket for his extensive knowledge of the tournament and consistent performances, played for up to ten years before gaining due recognition in the sport.

Luck shined on him during the ICC Super Series 2005, and he was named the ICC ODI Player of the Year in 2006. Mike Hussey was known for his ability to score runs consistently and his calm, composed demeanor on the field.

He is considered one of the best batsmen in Australian cricket history and was inducted into the WA Cricket Gallery of Greats in 2021.

The cricketer announced his retirement from the international tournament in 2012 after playing for several domestic teams in Australia and around the world, including the Western Warriors in the Australian domestic competition and Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, where he scored 733 runs in 2013.

In 2015, he played four matches for his team and scored only 77 runs. Mike Hussey retired as a player and took up a job as a Chennai Super Kings coach in 2018.

Chris Gayle, 733

Chris Gayle is known for his aggressive and powerful style of play, and he has scored over 10,000 runs in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and over 7,000 runs in Test matches. The left-handed batsman has played for some domestic teams worldwide, including the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, which he joined in 2011 after playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Ghris Gayle made it to the international tournament playing for the West Indies at the 1998 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. During the 2011 and 2012 IPL seasons, he established himself as a destructive batsman scoring more hundreds than anyone ever has.

He scored 608 runs in 2011 and 733 runs in 2012 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, making him the only player in IPL to win the orange cap two times consecutively, only behind David Warner, who has won the record three times.

Wrap Up

Virat Kohli holds the record for the most runs in a single season, scoring 973 runs in the 2016 season of IPL while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Several other players have also achieved high levels of success in a single season, including Jos Buttler, who scored 863 runs in the 2022 season for the Mumbai Indians who have five titles in IPL.

Also Read:

• Most Wins (Matches) in IPL by Teams
• The Fastest Ten Deliveries Bowled in IPL History