Royal Challengers Bengaluru legend Virat Kohli is all set to register a massive milestone in T20 cricket. RCB open their Indian Premier League 2025 campaign against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Saturday, March 22.
When Kohli steps onto the field of Eden Gardens, he will become just the third-ever Indian player to feature in 400 T20 matches. The Indian legend currently sits on 399 games in the shortest format. He will join Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik on the elusive list. Rohit sits on the top with 448 T20 matches to his name, followed by Karthik in second with 412 outings.
Most matches played by Indian players in T20 cricket:
1 - Rohit Sharma: 448 matches
2 - Dinesh Karthik: 412 matches
3 - Virat Kohli: 399 matches*
4 - MS Dhoni: 391 matches
5 - Suresh Raina: 336 matches
Kohli will be the 23rd overall to play 400 T20 games. The list of most T20 matches played by anyone in the world is headed by Kieron Pollard, who has featured in a whopping 695 fixtures.
Most matches played by a player in T20 cricket:
1 - Kieron Pollard: 695 matches
2 - Dwayne Bravo: 582 matches
3 - Shoaib Malik: 554 matches
4 - Andre Russell: 538 matches
5 - Sunil Narine: 536 matches
Kohli is a legend in IPL, having scored the most runs in the tournament. He has 8004 runs in 252 matches and leads the tally by some distance with Shikhar Dhawan being way off behind in second with 6769 runs to his name. Kohli has been the orange cap winner twice in the Indian cash-rich league. He was the top-scorer in 2016 with 973 runs to his name, while he topped the run-scoring sheets again in 2024, having made 741 runs.
Coming to IPL 2025, KKR and RCB will face each other in an opening match of IPL for the first time since they kicked off the tournament in 2008. KKR are looking to defend their title and become just the third team after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to win back-to-back titles in the Indian cash-rich league. Notably, RCB are bidding for their first crown in the 18th season.