Virat Kohli made his India debut on this day back in 2008.
Young Virat Kohli made his international debut on this day in 2008, playing his first ODI against Sri Lanka. Just a few months prior to the Sri Lanka series, Virat had recently added his name to the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup trophy and, like many U19 captains before him, had made a strong case for donning the Indian cap in the future by scoring 235 runs in six matches at an average of 47.00, including one century against the West Indies in the group stages.
In the opening innings of the match against Sri Lanka, Virat and his teammate Gautam Gambhir both managed just 12 runs. The young player finished his debut series with respectable stats, hitting 159 runs in five games at an average of 31.80, including his first fifty in the fifth ODI. Even his most ardent supporters found it hard to believe how successful Virat would become in the years to come, even though many understood that he was bound for international glory due to his brilliance and U19 triumph.
Along with Australia’s Steve Smith, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, and England’s Joe Root, Kohli established himself as the model of consistency in every format, eventually joining the so-called “Fab Four” batting quartet of the modern era.
In the 111 Tests that have followed, Kohli has played for India. After making his Test debut against the West Indies in 2011, he overcame the horrors of his first trip, during which he could only score 76 runs in five innings, to become one of the most prominent representatives of red-ball cricket. With 29 centuries, 29 fifties, and the highest score of 254*, he has amassed 8,676 runs at an average of 49.29 in 187 innings.
He transformed India into a formidable home team, assisted them in winning memorable Test matches and series in England, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Australia, and the West Indies, and established a world-class pace bowling unit with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammed Siraj among others. He also led India to five consecutive ICC World Test Championship titles from 2017 to 21.
The ODI format is where Virat excels. His 12,898 runs at an average of 57.32 in 275 ODIs are impressive. In 265 innings, he has amassed a total of 265 runs, including 46 centuries and 65 half-centuries, with a best score of 183.
He ranks fifth overall and is India’s second-highest ODI run scorer after Sachin (18,426 runs in 463 games with 49 hundreds). In addition, Virat is vying for a half-century of ODI tonnes and has the second-most ODI hundreds. He has the greatest average among ODI players with at least 150 games played, which speaks volumes about his reliability and the value he places on his wicket.
He is second-fastest to 6,000 and 7,000 ODI runs, third-fastest to 8,000, 9,000, 10,000, 11,000, and 12,000 ODI runs, as well as the quickest to score all of those totals.
As the ODI captain, Virat has a strong track record. With 95 games played under his leadership, he has a victory percentage of 68.42, having won 65, lost 27, tied one, and had two games end in a tie.
He was a member of the squad that won the 2011 and 2013 ICC Cricket World Cups, advanced to the semifinals of the 2015 and 2019 ICC Cricket World Cups, and won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
He has 1,030 runs scored in 26 innings at an average of 46.81 in 26 World Cup games. His best score was 107, and he has two century and six fifties. Additionally, he has participated in 13 ICC CT games and has amassed 529 runs at an average of 88.16, including five half-centuries in 12 innings. However, he has drawn criticism for his unreliable knockout match record.
Virat has expertly blended conservatism and situation-based attacking to become a T20I monster in an era where the T20 format encourages attacking batting. He has scored 4,008 runs at an average of 52.73 and a strike rate of 137.96 in 115 T20 Internationals. His greatest score was 122*, and he has recorded one century and 37 half-centuries.
He leads all previous T20I cricket players in runs, fifty-plus scores, and average. In T20Is, Virat also holds the record for the most “Man of the Match” (15) and “Man of the Series” (seven) honours.
The greatest ICC T20 World Cup player of all time is Virat. He is by far the most reliable player in tournament history and the leading run scorer with 1,141 runs in 27 games and 25 innings, at an average of 81.50, a strike rate of 131.30, and 14 fifties. He has produced strong results for India in the tournament’s knockout rounds, scoring half-centuries in each of these games.
Despite his achievements, he has failed to help India win a T20 World Cup. In the tournament’s 2014 and 2016 iterations, he was even named “Player of the Tournament.”
While pursuing in T20 World Cups, he had fantastic statistics. Virat has scored 518 runs with a batting average of 518.00 in nine victorious chases! This is due to the fact that he was only let go once while pursuing. He has chased in seven innings, scoring half centuries.
Virat’s all-format statistics are astounding overall. Virat is perhaps the best all-format batsman of all time due to his consistency in terms of runs and appearances across all formats, especially with the introduction of T20I cricket and a heavier workload. His 25,582 runs at an average of 53.63 have been scored in 501 games. He has accumulated 76 centuries, 131 fifties, and a top score of 254* in 559 innings of play.
He is India’s second-highest run scorer and ranks fifth among all cricketers internationally. He is trying to catch his idol, Sachin, who holds the records for 34,357 international runs, 664 international appearances, and 100 international hundreds. In terms of “Player of the Series” honours, he holds the record.
He received the ICC “Player of the Decade” honour from 2011 to 20 for all of these statistics.
