Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have equalled MS Dhoni’s record of playing the most number of matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Dhoni has played 278 games in the lucrative tournament. He has played for two teams in the competition: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS).
The former India captain has played 248 matches for CSK and 30 games for RPS. Rohit has also played for two different franchises in the IPL. His career began at Deccan Chargers (DCH). He played three seasons at DCH, a total of 45 games in the IPL. He was then bought by Mumbai Indians (MI) at the 2011 IPL auction and has been playing for them ever since.
Most matches as a player in IPL
| Player | Span | Match |
| MS Dhoni (CSK/RPS) | 2008–2025 | 278 |
| V Kohli (RCB) | 2008–2026 | 278 |
| RG Sharma (DCH/MI) | 2008–2026 | 278 |
| RA Jadeja (CSK/GL/Kochi/RR) | 2008–2026 | 265 |
| KD Karthik (DC/GL/KKR/KXIP/MI/RCB) | 2008–2024 | 257 |
Rohit has had 233 appearances for Mumbai Indians thus far. Virat, however, is an exception. The right-handed batter has not played for any other franchise in the league than Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He will have the chance to surpass both Dhoni and Rohit in terms of most appearances in the IPL when RCB take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match 57 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur on May 13.
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Mumbai Indians play a day later against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala. Therefore, Rohit can also surpass the former CSK captain and equal Virat. However, Virat is likely to take a lead this season as RCB are likely to qualify for the playoffs and Mumbai have been eliminated already.
Is it the end of the road for MS Dhoni?
Meanwhile, Dhoni was expected to play this season before he suffered a calf injury in one of the practice games. He aggravated the injury during rehab. The wicketkeeper batter is now in a race against time to regain fitness as CSK only have three more games to go in the league stage. They are also yet to cement their place in the playoffs.
