Rise of Virat Kohli

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When was the first time you heard the name of this person Virat Kohli?

It must have been the day he led the Indian colts to lift the Under-19 World Cup in the year 2008. His personal permonance included a century and his consistent performances at the domestic circuit paved way for his inclusion in the national side in the same year. He made his debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka and like other novices he too began slowly but over the years he has worked well over his technique and fitness to emerge out as one of the best modern day player.

With the added responsibility of captaincy after the retirement of MS Dhoni from Test Cricket, Kohli has shown maturity by playing longer and match-defining innings for India.This is well highlighted by the fact that as Captain, he has scored four double centuries in four consecutive series, which is another record.

Though he has played many great knocks for the country, his knock of 183 in the Asia Cup, 2012 against Pakistan while chasing 330, is considered as ‘one of the greatest’ by many given the circumstances of the game.Over the years he has established himself as one of the greatest chasers of the game which is clear by the fact that he averages above 60 while chasing. The 28-year old is the only player in the world to average above 50 in all the three formats. He played a crucial role when the team won the World Cup in 2011. He holds a number of records which include the fastest player to score 8500 runs in ODI’s in terms of matches played; fastest batsman to score a century as an Indian; he is only the second batsman to have scored 1000 runs for four consecutive calendar years; he is the fastest batsman to score 1000 runs in T20I. His captaincy record includes an unbeaten streak of 19 consecutive Test matches and he has led India to Number 1 in the Test Rankings.

Kohli’s interest in other sports resulted in commercial investments in various sports. In 2014, Kohli became a co-owner of Indian Super League club franchise FC Goa. In September 2015, Kohli became a co-owner of the International Premier Tennis League franchise UAE Royals and, in December that year, became a co-owner of the JSW -owned Bengaluru Yodhas franchise in Pro Wrestling League.

Virat Kohli has won awards like ICC One Day International Player of the Year in 2012, Arjuna Award for Cricket in 2013 and Padma Shri in 2017. The right-handed batsman is currently ranked number 1 in T20I, 2 in Tests, 3 in ODI. He is considered as a player who can break the numerous records set up by Sachin Tendulkar in the coming years.

So, wishing all the BEST to our Indian Captain!