In the 18-edition history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), only four times has a batsman crossed the 800-run mark, and only one of them breached the 900-run barrier.

Former RCB captain Virat Kohli holds the record for scoring the most runs in a single edition of the IPL for his epic 973-run season in 2016, falling short of 1000 runs by merely 27 runs!

It’s very much possible that the record gets broken in IPL 2026. The batting might in the IPL has bolstered over the last couple of seasons due to a combination of batsmen batting with a greater degree of fearlessness and freedom and the Impact Player rule.

The IPL 2024 and 2025 saw a run rate of 9.56 and 9.62, respectively, the only two seasons in IPL history with a tournament run rate of more than 9.

Let us predict the three batsmen who are favorites to beat Virat Kohli’s historical 973-run record.

IPL 2026: 3 Batsmen Who Can Break Virat Kohli’s 973 Runs Record This Season

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

In IPL 2025, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took world cricket by storm.

Becoming the youngest IPL debutant at the age of 14, Sooryavanshi slapped his first ball for a six. He later smashed a sensational century against a high-quality Gujarat Titans bowling attack.

Since then, the Rajasthan Royals opener has been lighting up every tournament he has played in, including blasting 175 off 80 balls in the Under-19 World Cup final in February.

Sooryavanshi scored 252 runs in seven innings in IPL 2025 at a strike rate of 206. Given he is set to open in all games for RR, the young left-hander could eye the 973-run benchmark.

Abhishek Sharma

The No. 1 ranked ICC T20I batsman, Abhishek Sharma, had a largely flat T20 World Cup until the final, where he thundered with an innings of 52 (21) against New Zealand.

High on confidence, Abhishek is ready to grab the IPL by the scruff of its neck in IPL 2026 and shatter more records. He has two consecutive 400-plus-run IPL seasons.

In IPL 2024, the southpaw walloped 42 sixes, the most by an Indian batsman in a single IPL edition. This year, if Abhishek begins well, he could even touch the Mt. Everest of the IPL, that is, Kohli’s feat of 973 runs from a decade ago.

Sanju Samson

There is no batsman in better form or larger momentum right now than Sanju Samson. Fresh from three consecutive fifties in must-win games for India at the T20 World Cup, Samson is ready to begin his journey as a Super King now with the pressure of the national team shackled away.

He was traded in by CSK from RR and now is the definite heir apparent to MS Dhoni. Samson is in staggering touch – scores of 97*, 89, and 89 in high-pressure T20 WC encounters reflect that – and will be the toast of the Chennai crowd.

Further, the Chepauk pitch in the T20 World Cup was a batting-friendly one, diverting from its traditional spin-friendly nature. The stars seem to be aligning for Samson once again as the gigantic 973-run tally of Kohli’s from 2016 could be up for the taking.

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