KL Rahul on verge of overtaking MS Dhoni on elite list in IPL 2026 clash vs SRH

Delhi Capitals batter KL Rahul is closing on becoming the sixth-highest run-getter in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Karnataka star has the golden opportunity to go past MS Dhoni on the elite list when he takes the field against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday. Rahul has been in quite some form in IPL 2026, having amassed 168 runs from 5 matches at an average of 33.60, and has scored two half-centuries as well.

Rahul has had a mixed run in the tournament so far. After commencing his IPL 2026 campaign with a couple of poor knocks, the DC opener scored a 92-run knock against the Gujarat Titans, following which he flopped once again against CSK after scoring just 18 runs. However, KL’s 52-run innings against RCB at their home ground in DC’s last game is a testament that he is in fine form and that he needs one more good knock to go past MS Dhoni on the list of leading run-getters in the history of IPL.

KL Rahul poised to overtake MS Dhoni

Rahul has played 150 IPL matches so far and has 5390 runs to his name. Meanwhile, MS Dhoni, who is yet to feature in a game in IPL 2026 owing to a calf strain that he is yet to fully recover from, has 5439 runs from 278 matches. Among all the players on the list of top six leading run-getters, MSD has played the most matches.

Credit: Alamy images

For a lot of players, stability is the key to success. However, that has not been the case with KL Rahul. He has switched from one franchise to the other over the years and has been subjected to promotions and demotions in the batting order, making his life quite difficult. Despite that, KL has managed to find consistency in the IPL.

Rahul started his IPL career with RCB in 2013 and moved to SRH for a couple of seasons, only to come back to RCB in 2016. After that, he played 4 seasons for PBKS. He then moved to LSG in 2022 (the year that the franchise came into existence), and was a part of it for three years, leading from the front. However, he was released and subsequently was bought by DC. Since 2018, there has been only one season where Rahul hasn’t managed to amass over 500 runs in an edition of the IPL.

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