Which player has the most runs in a single IPL season?

Virat Kohli holds the record for the most runs in a single IPL season, scoring 973 for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2016. His total remains the benchmark for one season of IPL batting.

Kohli’s 2016 campaign was extraordinary in both volume and quality. He scored four centuries, finished with an average above 80, and produced his runs while RCB reached the final. His 973 runs came in 16 innings, making the achievement even more striking because he missed no league match that season.

David Warner was the closest option listed, scoring 848 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the same 2016 tournament. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 2024 tally of 583 runs was well below the stated 895, while Chris Gayle’s 733 runs in 2012 was another outstanding but lesser campaign. The 895 figure attributed to Gaikwad is therefore not an accurate IPL-season total.

Kohli’s record is often confused with the Orange Cap, awarded to the season’s leading run-scorer. He won that award in 2016, and his 973 runs remain the highest single-season aggregate in IPL history.