Virat Kohli or David Warner - who has been the greater batter in IPL history? 

Virat Kohli and David Warner are among the top 5 run-getters in IPL history. While Kohli owns the record for the most runs by anyone in the IPL, Warner has the highest aggregate among foreign players.

In IPL 2025, Virat will continue to play for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but Warner will not be a part of any team. Quite surprisingly, the former Australia opener did not receive any bid at the IPL 2025 mega auction. After going unsold, Warner is likely to play in the Pakistan Super League, which will take place during the same window next year.

It should not be a surprise if Warner never plays in the IPL again. Assuming Warner's IPL career is done and dusted, here's a comparison of his and Virat Kohli's IPL careers.

---

#1 Virat Kohli vs David Warner - Who has the most runs?

The first comparison to determine the greater batter is the number of runs scored. Virat Kohli has aggregated 8,004 runs in 252 matches for RCB in his IPL career.

Meanwhile, David Warner has 6,565 runs in 184 games. Warner played for two franchises, namely the Delhi Capitals and the Sunrisers Hyderabad during his IPL career. On the scoring chart, Warner is way behind Kohli, which is why the latter wins the point.

Score: Kohli 1 - 0 Warner.

---

#2 Virat Kohli vs David Warner - Who has scored more IPL centuries?

Scoring a century in the IPL is an extremely difficult task, because the world's best play in the tournament. And considering it's the T20 format, it is challenging for any batter to touch triple figures.

Virat Kohli has eight centuries to his name across 244 innings, while Warner has recorded four hundreds in 184 innings. Kohli has batted in 60 more innings than Warner, but he scored double the number of tons. Clearly, Kohli gets the point here as well.

Score: Kohli 2 - 0 Warner.

---

#3 Virat Kohli vs David Warner - Who has the better average + strike rate in IPL?

Cricket pundits often use the 'average + strike rate' statistic to determine the impact made by a batter in the shorter formats. One is considered to be doing a great job if their average + strike rate is more than 165 after 25 innings.

Virat Kohli's average + strike rate is 170.64. His average is 38.67, and he has maintained a decent strike rate of 131.97 in 244 IPL innings for RCB.

On the other hand, David Warner's average + strike rate amounts to 180.29. He has scored at 40.52, while striking at 139.77. Warner has a marginal lead over Kohli in this statistic, which is why he gets this point.

Final score: Kohli 2 - 1 Warner.

Although Warner is the leading run-getter among overseas players in the IPL, he is still not a greater batter in the league when compared with Virat Kohli.