Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli is a fierce competitor on the pitch and hardly gives an inch. It adds to his run-scoring ability and makes him one of the most valuable players in the franchise. Thus, he has been a one-franchise player since the inception of IPL in 2008 and earned a total of INR ₹ 1,73,20,00,000 as salary in 16 seasons.
The run-scoring machine has justified his overall salary by raking up 5443 runs in 234 appearances in the lucrative tournament. He is the most run scorer in the tournament and has set benchmarks. Under his captaincy, RCB came the closest to winning the IPL title in 2016. They lost the final match against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). That season belonged to Kohli, the batter, as he accumulated 973 runs in 16 matches at a staggering average of 81.09. This is the most runs scored by a batter to date. His record of most centuries (4) in a single IPL season that year is also still intact.
It was the best season for Kohli and RCB after he was bought by the franchise for INR 12,00,000 in 2008. His retention fee remained the same till 2010. His salary was hiked by a massive INR 8,16,00,000 to INR 8,2800,000 in the 2011 edition. He fetched the same amount till 2013.
Incidentally, Kohli took over the regular captaincy from Daniel Vettori in the 2013 season. His retention fee was hiked from INR 8,2800,000 to INR 12,50,00,000 from 2014 to 2017. The franchise finished at the 5th spot in 2013, seventh in 2014, lost in the qualifier in 2015, lost in the final in 2016, and finished eighth in 2017, during this time under his captaincy. Kohli had an average of 45.28 in 2013, 27.61 in 2014, 45.90 in 2017, and 30.80 in 2017.
Despite continuing on a title drought, the franchise showed faith in his ability to increase his retention fee to INR 17,00,00,000 from the 2018 to 2021 season. The hike marked his highest salary per season in the IPL. Incidentally, Kohli stepped down as RCB captain at the end of the 2021 season. He had made his intentions clear about the decision at the beginning of phase 2 of IPL 2021. Moreover, the prolific batter also agreed on a pay cut with the franchise.
Kohli made INR 15,00,00,000 in the 2022 season and is earning the same amount in the ongoing season. His per-match fee is INR 1,07,14,285. The former RCB captain is currently the fifth-highest scorer in the IPL 2023, amassing 420 runs in 11 matches. He has an average of 44 in the lucrative tournament and notched up six half-centuries with the help of 39 boundaries and 11 sixes. The value of his 11 sixes in the ongoing season is INR 11,78,57,142.
