Former India batter Abhinav Mukund has named Virat Kohli as the greatest batter of the 21st century amid his IPL 2026 domination. He pointed out that very few players have shown such long-lasting dominance across formats and eras.
Kohli continues to show why he is still one of the biggest match-winners in world cricket. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) icon has played a key role in taking the franchise to the IPL 2026 final with a massive win over the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 on May 26.
Virat Kohli dominates IPL 2026 with consistency
Recently, the dashing right-hander became the first player in IPL history to score more than 600 runs in four consecutive seasons.
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Kohli also added another huge record by becoming the first batter to score over 500 runs against eight different IPL teams, showing his dominance across all bowling attacks. In IPL 2026, Kohli has already scored 600 runs in 15 matches at an impressive average of 50 and a strike rate above 164 with the help of one century and four half-centuries for RCB.
Abhinav Mukund picks Virat Kohli as the greatest batter of 21st century
As RCB prepares for the IPL 2026 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 31, Abhinav Mukund highlighted that Kohli’s biggest strength is his hunger and consistency. He hailed Kohli’s ability to perform across formats and across generations without losing intensity.
Abhinav Mukund said on ESPNCricinfo: “I have no doubt in my mind; it has to be Virat Kohli.” Just the longevity, the uninterrupted power that he brings to the table. He just keeps on going across formats, across generations. It’s just been the hunger that he brings to the table.”
Abhinav Mukund hails Virat Kohli’s hunger, intensity and commitment
Hailing Kohli’s mindset, Mukund has noted that every time he steps on the field, the former Indian captain plays with the same intensity, full commitment, and a strong desire to win for the team and set new standards. The cricket pundit said that these factors make the modern era legend one of the most complete batters the game has ever seen.
The former cricketer continued, “He’s definitely someone that a lot of people have been inspired by, but just the fact that every single time he steps onto the field, he wants to prove a point, not only to himself, but to ensure that his team wins. The energy that he brings to the field is outstanding. To me, he is definitely the ultimate batter.”
RCB top Google search charts; Virat Kohli leads player searches
Meanwhile, the IPL once again proved how massive it is online, with Google reporting that IPL-related searches have jumped by around 80 percent worldwide in the last 60 days.
In the IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru was the most searched team in India, followed by Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. Among players, Virat Kohli was the most searched player on Google, followed by MS Dhoni, along with young names like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Cooper Connolly, and Kartik Sharma.
People were searching for things like whether Rohit Sharma was playing IPL 2026, Kohli’s IPL centuries record, and even if this could be his last IPL season.
