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Virat Kohli added another individual milestone to his IPL career on May 13 after becoming the most-capped player in the tournament’s history during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s clash against Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur. The former RCB captain entered his 279th IPL match, moving ahead of MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma on the all-time appearances list before a ball was bowled in the contest.

The match at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium began after a short rain interruption, with RCB captain Rajat Patidar winning the toss and choosing to field first. Kolkata Knight Riders, listed as the home side for the fixture, made two changes by bringing back Venkatesh Iyer and introducing New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy.

Kohli’s latest appearance separated him from two players with whom he had briefly shared the record. Dhoni reached 278 matches during Chennai Super Kings’ final league fixture of the 2025 season, while Rohit Sharma joined the mark earlier this month during Mumbai Indians’ meeting with RCB.

Beyond the overall appearances tally, Kohli also remains comfortably ahead in another category that modern franchise cricket rarely encourages anymore: staying with one team long enough for statistics departments to run out of fresh graphics.

The 37-year-old is the only player in IPL history to feature in more than 250 matches for a single franchise. His tally for Royal Challengers Bengaluru now stands well beyond the corresponding figures of Dhoni and Rohit for Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians respectively.

Dhoni currently occupies second place with 248 appearances for CSK, while Rohit has played 232 matches for Mumbai Indians. Kohli’s uninterrupted association with RCB since the inaugural IPL season in 2008 has gradually turned a retention policy into a statistical monopoly.

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The gap at the top, however, may continue fluctuating over the remaining league stage. Rohit Sharma is expected to draw level again during Mumbai Indians’ match against Punjab Kings on May 14.

Kohli, though, is likely to receive additional matches through the playoffs if RCB qualify, while Mumbai Indians have already been eliminated from contention. The scheduling mathematics therefore currently favours Bengaluru’s former captain, provided availability remains unchanged.

Dhoni’s position has become more complicated due to fitness concerns. The veteran wicketkeeper has not featured this season because of a calf injury and reports have indicated that he also missed Chennai Super Kings’ travel plans for the Lucknow Super Giants fixture.

For now, the IPL’s appearances table has a new standalone leader, and it arrived through another RCB team sheet that needed no dramatic announcement beyond including Virat Kohli’s name again.