Rohit Sharma Set to Surpass MS Dhoni in IPL Matches Played
Rohit Sharma Approaches Milestone in IPL
Rohit Sharma is on the verge of surpassing MS Dhoni in the all-time list of players with the most appearances in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Mumbai Indians (MI) captain is scheduled to play his 279th match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Thursday, May 14. Currently, Dhoni holds the record with 278 matches played. Just a day earlier, Virat Kohli had overtaken Dhoni to become the player with the most IPL matches in history. With his upcoming game, Rohit will join Kohli at the top of the list.
Dhoni, who has not yet participated in the ongoing IPL season due to a calf strain, was expected to miss two weeks of action. His return is anticipated for the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 18.
| Top 5 Players with Most IPL Matches | Matches Played |
| Virat Kohli | 279 |
| MS Dhoni | 278 |
| Rohit Sharma | 278 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 265 |
| Dinesh Karthik | 257 |
Rohit Sharma's Journey in IPL
Rohit Sharma is among the select few, including Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey, who have participated in every IPL season since its inception. He began his IPL career with the Deccan Chargers (DC) and played for them during the first three seasons. After being released, DC attempted to reacquire him during the IPL 2011 mega-auction but were unsuccessful. Rohit subsequently joined MI and has remained with the franchise ever since.
After taking over as MI's captain midway through IPL 2013, Rohit led the team to its first IPL championship. Under his leadership, MI secured additional titles in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Although he was replaced by Hardik Pandya before IPL 2024, Rohit continued with MI leading up to the IPL 2025 mega-auction. With a total of 7,289 runs in 273 matches, he ranks second among all-time IPL run-scorers, trailing only Virat Kohli, who has amassed 9,145 runs, including 9 centuries and 66 fifties.