How Many Orange Caps Does Virat Kohli Have? (Full Explained)
How Many Orange Caps Does Virat Kohli Have?
If you’re a cricket fan, you’ve probably wondered just how many times Virat Kohli has won the IPL Orange Cap. The short answer? Twice. But the story behind those two caps is what makes it truly special. Virat Kohli has won the Orange Cap two times — in 2016 and 2024 — making him the only Indian player to win the award more than once.
What Is the Orange Cap?
The Orange Cap is awarded to the highest run-scorer of an IPL season. The player with the most runs in the tournament wears the cap on the field during the season, and the final top scorer officially takes it home on the day of the season’s final.
Virat Kohli's Orange Cap in 2016 — The Greatest IPL Season Ever
Kohli’s 2016 season is not just the best season of his IPL career — it’s the best batting season in IPL history, full stop. He scored 973 runs off 640 balls in 16 matches, delivering match-winning performances almost every time he stepped on the field, at a batting average of 60.81 and a strike rate of 152. His highest score was 113, and he hit 4 centuries and 7 half-centuries. Think about that for a second. Four centuries in a single T20 season. That had never been done before, and it hasn’t been done since. He came within just 27 runs of becoming the first batter to score 1,000 runs in a single T20 season. Nearly a decade later, nobody has come close. The closest anyone has got? Shubman Gill scored 890 runs in IPL 2023, and he was still 83 runs short. That tells you everything about how special 2016 was.
Virat Kohli's Orange Cap in 2024 — The Comeback
After 2016, Kohli went eight years without winning the Orange Cap. Then in 2024, he came back and claimed it again. In IPL 2024, Kohli scored 741 runs in 15 matches, proving his longevity and dominance in the league. Winning the Orange Cap at the age of 35, nearly a decade after his first one, is a remarkable achievement. It showed that Kohli wasn’t just a player from a golden era — he was still the best batter in the tournament when it mattered.
Kohli's Orange Cap Record at a Glance
| Year | Runs | Matches | Average | Strike Rate | Centuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 973 | 16 | 60.81 | 152.03 | 4 |
| 2024 | 741 | 15 | 61.75 | 154.70 | 1 |
Who Has the Most Orange Caps in IPL History?
David Warner has won the Orange Cap three times, the most by any player, leading the list of top run-scorers across IPL seasons. Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli have each won it twice. Warner won the award in 2015, 2017, and 2019, all while representing Sunrisers Hyderabad. So while Warner leads on count, Kohli leads on impact. Warner’s best season was 692 runs. Kohli’s best was 973. That’s the difference.
Kohli's Overall IPL Run Record
The Orange Caps are just a small part of a much bigger legacy.Kohli is the all-time leading run-scorer in IPL history, with 8,661 runs in 267 matches, and his role and numbers continue to evolve even in IPL 2026. He also holds the record for the most career centuries in IPL history, with 8 hundreds. No other player has scored more runs in IPL history. That’s how dominant he has been across 17+ seasons.
Final Word
Virat Kohli’s two Orange Caps tell a story that goes beyond numbers. The 2016 cap is the stuff of legend — a season so good it still hasn’t been matched after nearly a decade. The 2024 cap is the story of a great player who refused to fade away.
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❓FAQs
Two — in 2016 and 2024.
973 runs in IPL 2016 — still the all-time record for most runs in a single IPL season, and the only time any batter has crossed the 900-run mark in the tournament.
David Warner, with three (2015, 2017, 2019).
Yes. He is the only Indian player to win the Orange Cap more than once.