---
type: story
title: "Kohli at 37: The Season His Average Stopped Making Sense"
description: >
  Virat Kohli has played 18 IPL seasons. His average peaked at 81.1 in 2016.
  In IPL 2026, at 37 years old, he posted 56.25. For a career that averaged 39.59
  across 259 pre-2026 matches, that is an unexpected late career arc.
tags:
  - IPL
  - batting
  - player
  - records
  - history
status: active
last_verified: 2026-06-25
timestamp: 2026-06-25
license: CC-BY-4.0
source_system: CricketStudio
source_boundary: public_open_data
canonical_page: https://okf.cricketstudio.ai/stories/kohli-at-37-best-average/
resource: https://okf.cricketstudio.ai/stories/kohli-at-37-best-average/
entity_id: cricketstudio:story:kohli-at-37-best-average
dataset_version: 2026-06-11
provenance:
  source: >
    Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 for pre-2026 career (259 matches, 8671 runs, 39.59 avg).
    CricketStudio IPL 2026 snapshot (version 2026-06-11) for IPL 2026 figures.
    Season-by-season batting table from Cricsheet CC BY 3.0.
  confidence: high
  notes: >
    All average figures are batting averages (runs per dismissal) — standard IPL metric.
    Career pre-2026 from Cricsheet CC BY 3.0. IPL 2026 from CricketStudio snapshot.
related:
  - ../scorebook/players/virat-kohli.md
  - ../dossier/virat-kohli-ipl-2026.md
  - ../metrics/batting-average.md
  - ../stories/rcb-back-to-back.md
  - ../stories/kohli-2016-season.md
---

# Kohli at 37: The Season His Average Stopped Making Sense

## The Question Nobody Asked

If a batter's career average is 39.59 across 259 matches, what does it mean when they post 56.25 in season 18?

## What the Data Says

**[Kohli](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/virat-kohli) IPL 2026:**

| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| Matches | 16 |
| Runs | 675 |
| Average | 56.25 |
| Strike rate | 165.85 |
| Fifties | 5 |
| Hundreds | 1 (105* vs KKR) |

*(Source: CricketStudio IPL 2026 snapshot, version 2026-06-11)*

**Career before IPL 2026 (Cricsheet CC BY 3.0, 259 matches):**

| Stat | Value |
|------|-------|
| Runs | 8,671 |
| Average | 39.59 |
| Strike rate | 133.3 |
| Fifties | 63 |
| Hundreds | 8 |

**The average-by-era pattern (selected seasons, Cricsheet CC BY 3.0):**

| Season | Age | Average |
|--------|-----|---------|
| 2016 | 27 | 81.1 |
| 2019 | 30 | 33.1 |
| 2021 | 32 | 28.9 |
| 2022 | 33 | 22.7 |
| 2023 | 34 | 53.2 |
| 2024 | 35 | 61.8 |
| 2025 | 36 | 54.8 |
| **IPL 2026** | **37** | **56.25** |

## The Wow

Between 2021 and 2022, [Kohli](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/virat-kohli)'s average dropped to 22.7 — his lowest full-season figure since his early IPL years. Across 16 matches and 16 innings, he could not convert starts. The dot on the career graph looks like decline.

Then 2023: 53.2. Then 2024: 61.8 — his second-best IPL average after the 81.1 in 2016.

Something changed. Not dramatically — not in his technique or role — but in how many times he converted innings into significant scores. The 2023–2026 four-season block (53.2, 61.8, 54.8, 56.25) represents the best sustained period of his IPL batting averages since the 2016 peak.

His career average is 39.59 pre-2026. He has averaged above that career figure in each of the last four seasons, each time above 50.

He is now 37. In T20 franchise cricket, most batters peak between 25 and 32. The data says [Kohli](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/virat-kohli)'s average performance is currently at a higher level than it was between ages 30 and 33.

## The 9,000-Run Milestone

Kohli's IPL 2026 season also contained the most significant individual milestone of the tournament: on **April 27, 2026 (Match 39, DC vs RCB)**, he became the **first batter in IPL history to cross 9,000 career runs**. The second-highest career total belongs to [Rohit Sharma](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/rohit-sharma) at approximately 7,183 runs — a gap of more than 1,800 runs. The milestone is confirmed 3-0 by independent sources including iplt20.com, Outlook India, and CricketAddictor.

Then, in the **IPL 2026 final**, Kohli scored **75\* off 42 balls** — including his **fastest-ever IPL fifty (reached in 25 balls)** — to win **Player of the Match** as RCB defended their title for a second consecutive year.

The 9,000-run milestone and the final performance sit alongside the 56.25 average as three separate data points all pointing to the same conclusion: Kohli at 37 is not declining. He is, by the numbers, in the best sustained form of his IPL career outside of 2016.

## What It Doesn't Say

Average alone does not tell the full story. IPL 2026 batting environment has changed with the Impact Player Rule — scoring has risen, averages may have risen across the board. Kohli's 56.25 in a higher-scoring era may be contextually different from 81.1 in 2016.

The 2021–2022 dip has been widely analysed in cricket journalism. This story is not a diagnosis of what caused it. The data shows the pattern; the cause is more complex than a single metric.

56.25 in IPL 2026 confirms he is performing well. It does not confirm he is performing at the peak of his career — 81.1 in 2016 from 973 runs remains the benchmark, and a 16-match 675-run season is different in scale from a 16-match 973-run season.

The strike rate of 165.85 in IPL 2026 — notably higher than his career pre-2026 strike rate of 133.3 — also suggests an adaptation in approach, consistent with the higher-scoring Impact Player Rule era rather than a simple continuation of his historical style.

## Related Concepts

- [Virat Kohli](../scorebook/players/virat-kohli.md)
- [Kohli's 2016 Season](../stories/kohli-2016-season.md)
- [RCB Back to Back](../stories/rcb-back-to-back.md)
- [Batting Average — metric](../metrics/batting-average.md)
