Top five most talked about players in India in IPL 2026

The most talked about players in the IPL are the league's legendary faces and top social media drivers. Broadcast metrics track the heaviest social media engagement around this group, with Virat Kohli dominating conversations, followed closely by MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Sanju Samson, and KL Rahul. IPL, like every year, brought in a lot of fan wars, iconic innings, and moments that had the fans engaged on their screens.

Amidst this, Star Sports has launched 'Top 5 Most Talked About Players' of IPL 2026 based on social media conversations tracked by Distillery, the analytics arm of Star Sports, which tracked the social media data from fans and gave the list.

Virat Kohli, as usual, has topped the list with 44% of the total engagement, with other Indian veterans following him. Fans were surprised when teenage sensation Viabhav Sooryavanshi, who was a part of many conversations and discussions, couldn’t find a way into the top five. Also, the absence of bowlers in the top five has equally disappointed many fans.

Top five most talked about players in India in IPL 2026

Here are the top five players who had the most mentions and were part of conversations in IPL 2026:

Virat Kohli (44%)

Virat Kohli not topping the list would have actually surprised us. Virat Kohli is having a stellar IPL 2026 tournament as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have once again qualified for the playoffs. As the legend that he is, Kohli has amassed over 540 runs across 13 matches with a strike rate of 164.74. He became the first batter in the history of the tournament to cross the 9,000-run mark, and also his 9th hundred in IPL came against KKR this season. Kohli also became the first player in IPL history to score 500 or more runs in a season for the 9th time in his career.

MS Dhoni (21%)

Imagine not playing a single game for injury in IPL 2026 yet being second on the list that proves the aura this man has and will forever possess. MS Dhoni didn’t play a single game for CSK in the IPL 2026 season after being ruled out for the first two weeks of the season due to a calf injury. Though CSK fans and critics still hoped for his appearances in the latter half of the tournament, his lingering injury kept him out of the Playing XI. There were rumours that during CSK's last home game in Chepauk against SRH, Dhoni might come out nonchalantly with his willow, but Ruturaj confirmed his fresh injuries, disappointing fans. Although CSK management and head coach Stephen Fleming have said that Dhoni is in CSK’s plan for 2027, he would mostly continue before his big farewell.

Rohit Sharma (18%)

Rohit Sharma played his 19th consecutive Indian Premier League season in 2026 for the Mumbai Indians, achieving the historic milestone of becoming the only capped player to feature in every edition of the tournament. Although he wasn’t at his best this season and also being out for injury for many matches, he amassed 283 runs across 8 matches at an average of 40.42, including a blistering 84 off 44 balls against the Lucknow Super Giants.

Sanju Samson (10%)

Sanju Samson has been in the talk since his stellar form for India in the 2026 T20 World Cup, although he fumbles at the start of the IPL 2026 with is new franchise CSK. Later, he single-handedly played match-winning knocks for CSK. He amassed 477 runs in 13 innings at an impressive average of 47.70 and a blistering strike rate of 166.20. Samson has struck two brilliant centuries, including an amazing 101 off 54 balls against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. He became the 10th player in IPL history to surpass 5,000 career runs, doing so as the third-fastest ever in terms of balls faced (3,555 balls).

KL Rahul (8%)

KL Rahul had a stellar IPL 2026 campaign for the Delhi Capitals, being retained for INR 14 Crore. He created history by becoming the first player to score 1,000+ runs for three different franchises (PBKS, LSG, DC). He made a record as he smashed a record-breaking unbeaten 152 off 67 balls against the Punjab Kings, which registered as the highest individual score by an Indian in IPL history and the third-highest overall. Fans see this as a comeback season for KL Rahul in T20 cricket.