Ishant Sharma IPL Journey: 96 Wickets, One Five-for, and 15 Seasons of Pace Mastery Veteran seamer Ishant Sharma has become one of the Indian Premier League’s most enduring pace forces, spanning 15 seasons from the inaugural 2008 edition to the 2025 campaign with Gujarat Titans. Across 117 bowling innings the 6' 4" bowler has sent down 2 419 balls—roughly 403 overs—and conceded 3 377 runs to claim 96 wickets. His strike-rate of 25.20 balls per wicket underlines a knack for breaking partnerships, while three three-wicket hauls and one five-wicket burst showcase his match-turning ability on the biggest stage. Having debuted with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008, Ishant’s journey reads like a tour of the league itself: KKR (2008-2010), Sunrisers Hyderabad (2011-2015), Rising Pune Supergiants (2016), Punjab Kings (2017) and seven seasons with Delhi Capitals (2019-2024) before landing at Gujarat Titans for the 2025 season. That 2025 move makes him one of the few players to feature for six different IPL franchises, a testament to his adaptability and enduring value. With the bat, Ishant’s role has always been support—57 runs in 21 innings tells its own story—but his two sixes and four boundaries provide flashes of lower-order fireworks. Yet it is with the ball that the lanky quick has truly delivered, striking every 25th ball and maintaining an economy of 8.38 across diverse conditions and grounds. Whether steaming in for Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla or operating with the new ball for Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Ishant’s height, bounce and subtle variations have kept top-order batters guessing for over a decade and a half.

Virat Kohli is the undisputed batting king of the Indian Premier League, a Royal Challengers Bengaluru lifer who has turned loyalty into legend across 18 electrifying seasons from 2008 to 2025. With 8,661 runs off 6,519 balls, Kohli is the league’s highest-ever run-getter, firing at a strike rate of 132 and painting every corner of every ground with 771 fours and 291 towering sixes. His 63 half-centuries and 8 hundreds—topped by a blistering 113*—tell the story of a man who converts starts into statements, walking in 259 innings and delivering a match-defining fifty or hundred in roughly one out of every four trips to the crease. While he has rolled his arm over occasionally, claiming four wickets from 26 bowling innings, it is with the bat that Kohli has authored the IPL’s most enduring chronicle, forever clad in the red and gold of RCB.

Note: This overview is partially generated using AI and is based on statistical data. Please verify with official sources for complete accuracy.