A landmark milestone of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He has been playing his 200th IPL match tonight at the Ekana Cricket Ground. In a remarkable feat, he is the first bowler to make an entry in the record book.
With this massive record, Kumar joins an elite list of players in the league. Star cricketers like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja have played over 200 games in their respective IPL careers. Now, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also joined the list.
200th IPL match for Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Ahead of the match, Kumar talked about his achievement and discussed his journey so far in the franchise league.
“It is indeed special—any milestone is, really—and playing 200 matches is, in itself, a massive achievement. So, naturally, I am feeling very happy. Furthermore, I think the best part is that I am achieving this with a team that won the trophy last year and is playing exceptionally well this season; that makes it even better,” Bhuvneshwar Kumar told the broadcasters.
“It is very difficult to pick just one, but if I absolutely had to name something special, I would choose my debut wicket. My journey began so many years ago, and that very first wicket is always something special.”
“So, yes, things are going well right now. It has certainly been demanding, especially considering the way the format itself has evolved… Given the way batsmen are changing and the aggressive approach they are adopting during the Powerplay, it is always a demanding challenge to constantly improve one’s game,” he added further.
List of players who have played over 200 matches in the Indian Premier League (as of May 2026):
- MS Dhoni: 278 matches
- Rohit Sharma: 277 matches
- Virat Kohli: 276 matches
- Ravindra Jadeja: 264 matches
- Dinesh Karthik: 257 matches
- Shikhar Dhawan: 222 matches
Virat Kohli’s special message for Bhuvneshwar Kumar
On the big occasion in Kumar’s professional cricket career, Virat Kohli issued a heartfelt message for his RCB teammate. Ahead of the Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru match, Kohli praised his teammate by saying that Bhuvneshwar Kumar is among the top three fast bowlers in the history of the Indian Premier League.
Kohli highlighted that Kumar has been successful across the formats with longevity. For Virat, Bhuvneshwar is among the top three bowlers in IPL ever.
“It’s a big feat to play 200 games, especially as a fast bowler; that tells you the longevity, and he’s played cricket over all these years in all kinds of formats and been such a successful bowler. He’s probably been in the top three pacers in the IPL ever,” Virat Kohli said.
“You look at his economy and the number of wickets he’s taken. He is a guy you can bank on under pressure 100 per cent of the time, which is exactly crazy if you think about it. Over so many years to still have that skill and have that execution that the captain can bank on you every game. It is a great achievement”, he added.
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