Karan Sharma IPL Profile: 83 Wickets Across 12 Seasons Prove He’s a Bowling Asset Worth Watching Karan Sharma’s journey through the Indian Premier League has been defined by one golden arm rather than the bat. Across 87 bowling innings spread over 12 seasons, the 33-year-old off-spinner has picked up 83 wickets at a strike-rate of 19.10—meaning he bursts open an opposition partnership once every three overs. His economy of 8.38 is par for the modern T20 era, but the ability to break stands is what has kept franchises queuing up. Sharma has turned the ball for Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad and now Mumbai Indians, and every stop has produced a match-shaping spell: six three-wicket bursts and a best of 4/25 that showcase his knack for ripping through a middle order. While the bat has rarely been his calling card—352 runs in 40 innings at a highest of 39—Sharma can still clear the ropes when needed, depositing 17 sixes among 20 fours for a strike-rate of 119. Those cameo boundaries have often lifted his team past the par score after he has done the damage with the ball. From his debut in 2009 with RCB to his latest 2025 stint with MI, Sharma has remained a silent banker captains trust in crunch overs.

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.