Most IPL Runs. vs. Most IPL Wickets: The Bowler Who Doesn't Get Enough Credit Like Kohli

With 224 wickets, Yuzvendra Chahal is the highest wicket-taker in IPL history

In the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Virat Kohli is the batsman with the most runs scored, i.e., 8,758 runs and counting. The legendary batter, despite retiring from T20 internationals, has no intention of quitting the IPL, and we therefore expect him to breach the 9,000-run mark – a record that will remain intact for at least a decade. And because of such an impossible run-scoring spree, Kohli has remained with one franchise since 2008 and enjoys an IPL fandom of people who aren't cricket followers in general but turn out to the stadium for Kohli and his franchise, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

However, on the other side of the crease is a bowler with 224 wickets, the highest in the history of the tournament and still counting, but in our book of thoughts, he isn’t celebrated enough.

The case of Chahal

There is no comparison between Virat Kohli and Yuzvendra Chahal, but it must be noted that Kohli made his debut in 2008, whereas Chahal came onto the scene in 2013 – a gap of five years and nearly 100 IPL matches between the two sides. And yet, Chahal outperformed other Indian bowling legends like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit, and even foreign bowlers such as Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo.

In a tournament often hailed as a batting paradise, Chahal not only took the most wickets but also kept his economy below 8, even registering a best of 5/40.

Impact factor

Chahal won an IPL title in 2013 with the Mumbai Indians, but he played only one game that season. In 2014, he moved to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and teamed up with Kohli. 2016 witnessed Bengaluru reach the final, a season in which Kohli registered his best with the bat, scoring 976 runs. However, wasn't Chahal impactful enough, given he had grabbed 21 wickets in 13 matches?

Chahal also played two more finals in 2022 for the Rajasthan Royals, followed by the 2025 final for the Punjab Kings. In 2022, Chahal was the season's leading wicket-taker, winning the Purple Cap, which was a crucial reason behind the Royals’ successful campaign. Even in 2025, Chahal grabbed 16 wickets, including one in the final.

On the other hand, in 2009, Kohli made 246 runs in 16 matches, with an innings of just 7 runs in the final, whereas in 2011, Kohli’s numbers improved to 557 runs in 16 matches. However, in the second qualifier and the final, Kohli’s runs were eight and 35, respectively.

The question stands – who was more impactful in the seasons when their respective teams reached the final?

Virat Kohli is no doubt a legend of the game who has been instrumental in making the IPL one of the best domestic T20 leagues in the world. However, Chahal also deserves tonnes of praise and a separate fandom, given he has proved his bowling prowess and showed that bowlers can dominate in a batting oriented league. Apart from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, no bowler is in contention to catch Chahal, who is yet to retire from the game.

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