Watching IPL is like watching Indian cricketers go through puberty. The transition from a schoolboy to a young man isn’t that obvious yet. But you know the process is underway when you start hearing them talk about the ‘game’ in terms of dollars and cents. Runs, sixes, and fours have come a long way since the first match back in 2008. All the previous seasons of IPL have given us some of the most exciting run-chases we’ve seen. To date, fifty-four players have scored over a thousand runs in an IPL season. However, in this article, we have compiled a list of the top 10 highest runs made by a player in IPL history. In addition, we have also mentioned their career highlights and the awards they received for their contribution to cricket.
Top 10 players with Highest runs in IPL history | Who is the highest run-scorer of all time in the IPL?
List of top 10 highest run-scorers in IPL history
| Rank | Player name | Runs | Innings | IPL Franchise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Virat Kohli | 6283 | 199 | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| 2. | Shikhar Dhawan | 5784 | 191 | Delhi Capitals |
| 3. | Rohit Sharma | 5611 | 208 | Mumbai Indians |
| 4. | Suresh Raina | 5528 | 200 | Retired (2021) |
| 5. | David Warner | 5449 | 150 | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| 6. | AB de Villiers | 5162 | 170 | Retired (2021) |
| 7. | Chris Gayle | 4965 | 141 | Retired (2021) |
| 8. | M.S Dhoni | 4746 | 193 | Chennai super kings |
| 9. | Robin Uthappa | 4722 | 186 | Chennai Super Kings |
| 10. | Gowtam Gambhir | 4217 | 152 | Retired (2018) |
Top 10 Batsmen with most runs in IPL History | Ranked
1. Virat Kohli (6283 runs)- the player with the highest runs in IPL history
Virat Kohli is an Indian cricketer and the previous captain of the India national team. As a right-handed top-order batsman, Kohli is also regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world. He plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Also, the RCB’s captain since 2013. Since October 2017, he has been the top-ranked ODI batsman. He is currently 2nd in Test rankings with 928 points. Among Indian players, Kohli has the best Test rating (937 points), ODI rating (911 points) as well as T20I rating (897 points).
Initially, Kohli made his ODI debut in 2008 and was part of the squad that won the 2011 World Cup. In June 2013, when Kohli scored his maiden century while chasing against Pakistan, he became the first and only Indian batsman to score a century before lunch on Day 1 of a test match. He also holds numerous other batting records. Such as the fastest ODI century (52 balls), the fastest batsman to 5,000 ODI runs (114 innings), and the most number of centuries in run chases (18). Also, Kohli captained India Under-19s to victory. Moreover, Kohli’s record for most runs in IPL history is remarkable no matter how you look at it: he scored 6283 runs in 199 innings.
2. Shikhar Dhawan (5784 runs)– second highest runs in IPL
Shikhar Dhawan is the second-highest run-scorer in IPL history. He is an Indian international cricketer. A left-handed opening batsman who occasionally is also a right-arm off-break bowler. He plays for Delhi in first-class cricket as well as Delhi Capitals in the IPL. Dhawan scored his maiden century in Test cricket during India’s tour of South Africa in January 2018. He joined the Indian Test squad as a replacement for Murali Vijay.
He also played for the Indian Under-17 and Under-19 teams before making his first-class debut for Delhi in November 2004. At the 2015 World Cup, Dhawan was the leading run-scorer for India. Also, in the following year, he became the third-fastest Indian to reach 3,000 ODI runs. Moreover, in December 2017, Dhawan became the fastest Indian to reach 4,000 runs in ODIs. In October 2018, he became the second-fastest batsman to score 4,000 runs in ODIs as an opener.
Dhawan made his Ranji Trophy debut for Delhi against Vidarbha on 5 November 2004 at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi. He scored 18 runs before being dismissed by Bilal Shafayat. Furthermore, Shikhar Dhawan was part of the India Red team that won the 2006–07 Duleep Trophy under Mohammad Kaif’s captaincy. In 2013 and 2014, he was Wisden’s cricketers of the year.
3. Rohit Sharma (5611 runs)
Rohit Gurunath Sharma (born 30 April 1987) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for Mumbai in domestic cricket and captains Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League as a right-handed batsman and also an occasional right-arm off-break bowler. He is the third-highest run-scorer in IPL history. Also, the first player to score more than one IPL century. He has scored most centuries in T20 Internationals, with four of them. He also holds the world record for the highest individual score in One Day Internationals after scoring 264 against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens (13 November 2014). His other ODI record includes 209 against Australia, which came during the bilateral series held in 2013.
Rohit Sharma played for the national team in 2007. But he had to wait until June 2010 to make his One Day International (ODI) debut against Zimbabwe. In 2013, Sharma also received the Arjuna Award (India’s second-highest sporting award by the Government of India). He holds the record for most runs in a single over in an ODI (26 runs) and the highest individual score by an Indian player in ODI (was later broken by K.L Rahul). Rohit Sharma has scored three double centuries in any format of international cricket after Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Later, in January 2017, he became the third captain to win three IPL titles by defeating the Rising Pune Supergiant. He is one of four players who have won two ICC ODI Player of the Year awards.
4. Suresh Raina (5528 runs)
Suresh Kumar Raina, an aggressive left-handed middle-order batsman, is considered one of the best fielders in world cricket. He is the captain of Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League. Raina has also captained the Indian cricket team and is the second-youngest player to lead the Indian team. He is the first Indian batsman to score a century in all three formats of international cricket. Furthermore, he was the “most valuable player” of the 2009/10 Champions League Twenty20 tournament. In 2015, Raina signed a contract with the Winnipeg Hawks for their inaugural Global T20 Canada season
In June 2018, he became the first Indian batsman to score 8000 runs in Twenty20 cricket during his innings of 36 not out against Afghanistan during a warm-up game ahead of the 2018 Cricket World Cup. Raina played a crucial role in India’s victory at the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007. On 18 September 2007, during the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup match between India and South Africa, he struck 58 runs off just 30 balls to help India win.
He became the first Indian batsman to score a hundred in all three formats after scoring a century against Zimbabwe in June 2010. Also, on 18 December 2015, against South Africa, he became one of only four players in history to hit a century in all three forms of international
You might be interested to learn about the top 5 fastest centuries in test cricket history.
5. David Warner (5449 runs)
David Andrew Warner, an Australian international cricketer is the former captain of the Australian national team. As a left-handed opening batsman, Warner is the first Australian cricketer in 132 years to be selected for a national team in any format without experience in first-class cricket. He also plays for New South Wales and the Sydney Thunder in domestic cricket
Warner is the fifth-highest run-scorer in IPL history and also one of the only five players to score over 5,000 runs in the IPL. He currently plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad as an overseas player. In January 2016, he also became the first to win back-to-back Allan Border medals by a record margin.
Warner made his Test debut for Australia in the first match of The Ashes series against England at The Gabba on 25 November 2011. As a result of his performance during his first few months as an international cricketer earned him a nomination for the 2012 Allan Border Medal.
He is one of only three players in history who have won both the Orange Cap and Purple Cap in the same IPL season. In 2015, Warner won the Allan Border Medal, becoming only the second player to win it three times. Also, David Warner was named the International Twenty20 Player of the Year by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack in 2017 and 2018.
6. AB de Villiers (5162 runs)
AB de Villiers is a South African cricketer who plays for the South Africa national cricket team and the T20 franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is an attacking batsman. He was named the ICC ODI’s Player of the Year three times during his career. Fans were disappointed initially when he announced his retirement from all international cricket in 2017. But, in the year 2018, de Villiers made a comeback and played for RCB. He is currently the sixth-highest run-scorer in IPL history with 5162 runs.
De Villiers holds the record for the fastest ODI 50, 100, and 150, also for most sixes in an ODI inning by a South African. He made the fastest test century by a South African, off 69 balls against the West Indies on 18 January 2015. In June 2014, de Villiers became only the eighth player in history to top both Test batting rankings and ODI rankings at the same time.
IPL highlights:
1. Scored fastest 50 off just 16 balls in a T20 match against Delhi Capitals in IPL 2012.
2. Highest score of 133 not out innings against Mumbai Indians in 2015.
3. Scored 79 off 47 balls against Rajasthan Royals in 2009.
4. Scored 97 off 44 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014.
7. Chris Gayle (4965 runs)
Chris Gayle is a Jamaican cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies team. Gayle was the captain for the West Indies Test team from 2007 to 2010. He is considered one of the greatest batsmen in the world because Gayle has set numerous records across all three formats of cricket. He is one of only four players who have scored two triple centuries at the Test level. Gayle was also named one of the five Cricketers of the Decade by Cricinfo in December 2019, based on his performance over the preceding ten years. He joined Sir Garfield Sobers (1954-63), Sir Viv Richards (1974-83), Brian Lara (1984-93), and Sachin Tendulkar (1994-2003) as an honoree of this distinction.
He is known as a “big-hitter”; Gayle’s aggressive batting has resulted in some of the fastest scoring rates in Test cricket, and he currently holds multiple records for scoring the most runs in a single over both in Tests and ODIs. He has also hit the highest number of sixes in the history of ODI cricket. He was also the first player to hit a double century in World Cup history. Furthermore, in March 2016, he became the second player to hit two Twenty20 International centuries after Brendon McCullum. Gayle scored 7214 runs at an average of 41.13 in Tests with 15 centuries. Also, 9727 runs at 37.83 in ODIs with 23 centuries. Furthermore, he scored 4965 total runs in the IPL.
8. M.S Dhoni (4746 runs)
He is one of the greatest finishers in limited-overs cricket and the best wicket-keepers in world cricket. Initially, he made his One Day International (ODI) debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh and played his first Test against Sri Lanka.
Dhoni holds numerous records as a captain, such as most wins by an Indian captain in Tests and ODIs, and most back-to-back wins by an Indian captain in ODIs. In 2007, he took over the ODI captainship from Rahul Dravid. And led the team to its first ODI series win in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Furthermore, under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, the CB Series of 2007–08, the 2010 Asia Cup, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
Dhoni has been the recipient of many awards. The ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 (the first player to win the prize twice). The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2007, the Padma Shri (India’s fourth-highest civilian honor in 2009). Also, in 2018, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan (India’s third-highest civilian honor in 2018) He was the captain of the ICC World Test in 2009, 2010, and 2013. He has also been selected eight times in ICC World ODI XI teams (five times as captain). Most importantly, under his captaincy, India climbed to No. 1 position for the first time in the ICC Test rankings in 2009.
9. Robin Uthappa (4722 runs)
Uthappa was born in Kodagu, Karnataka, to a Tulu-speaking family. He is a right-handed batsman who plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket. He has played for Mumbai Indians, Pune Warriors India, Royal Challengers Bangalore as well as Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. After being a member of the Under-19 India team that won the World Cup in 2004, he made his One Day International (ODI) debut against England at Indore in April 2006. In his debut match, he also scored a half-century. Because of his consistent performances for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he was signed by Mumbai Indians for ₹2.79 crores, making him one of the most expensive buys at that auction.
On 23 April 2011, Uthappa was purchased by Pune Warriors India at the 2011 IPL Player Auction. He had a great tournament with Pune as he scored 420 runs with a Strike Rate of 126.5. He took ten catches and made three stumpings to his name. As a result, it helped Pune reach their first-ever IPL Play-offs. Moreover, Uthappa holds the record for the most runs scored by an Indian batsman on ODI debut (86 runs). On 19 May 2017, he also became the ninth-highest run-scorer in IPL history. Later, in December 2018, Rajasthan Royals bought him in the player auction for the 2019 Indian Premier League for ₹3 crores.
10. Gowtam Gambhir (4217 runs)
Gautam Gambhir is a former Indian international cricketer. He also captained the Indian national team. He is a left-handed opening batsman who played in the Indian Premier League for Kolkata Knight Riders. Gambhir also holds the record of most 150+ scores in ODI cricket. Firstly, he started his career by playing for the Delhi Under-17s and Under-19s teams. Then he made his debut for Delhi in November 1999. In 2003 he made his One Day International (ODI) debut for India against Bangladesh and played his first Test against Australia.
Gambhir became a regular member of the Indian team in ODIs because of his successful performances on Zimbabwe and the West Indies tours in early 2006. He was also named one of five cricketers to watch out for on Zakir Hussain’s all-time Indian Test XI by Cricinfo. Also, in January 2008, he was rewarded with a Grade A contract, making him one of the best-paid players in the Indian national team. Finally, in December 2018, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Gambhir is one of only four Indian batsmen to have scored more than 300 runs in four consecutive Test series. Later, he was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2008 by the President of India, In2009, Gambhir got the Padma Shri award.
You might be interested to read about the top 5 youngest players to debut in cricket.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed our article on the top top 10 players with the highest runs in the IPL history. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. The source for the data of this article is Wikipedia. This page’s content is subject to change at any time. Also, our website (www.crickettipmaster.com) makes no guarantees about the information’s accuracy.
