Virat Kohli is the face of Indian cricket. He has been in the cricketing circuit at the international level since the year 2008 and since then has made his presence felt. He is Indian cricket’s Superstar. Virat hails from Delhi and learned the sport from there itself. More than anything else it is his passion for the game that the fans love to watch. Virat is one of the most loved cricketers all over the globe. He plays for the Indian National Team in all the 3 formats as a captain and senior batsman.
Virat Kohli Early Life: –
Virat Kohli was born on 5th November 1988 in a Punjabi family in the city of Delhi. Kohli’s father has named Prem Kohli and Virat Kohli’s mother’s name is Saroj Kohli. Coming in from a very cricket fanatic family, Virat Kohli has 2 siblings. Virat Kohli’s sister is Bhavana Kohli and Virat’s brother is Vikash Kohli. He was in love with the sport from a very young age. Kohli’s father was a criminal lawyer and his mother was a homemaker. Kohli would ask his father to bowl for him as he used to play with a plastic bat at home.
Virat Kohli Education: –
Virat was bought up in the streets of Uttam Nagar. He studied initially at the Vishal Bharti Public School. He broke into the West Delhi Cricket Academy and started showing his talent over there. Virat later moved to the Savior Convent School. He was oozing with talent at a very young age recounts his early coach Raj Kumar Sharma. Virat Kohli at that age represented a few other cricket clubs. He used to train long hours and was extremely passionate back then too. Virat has completed education till the 11th Grade. He was then later on picked to the Under-19 Indian National Team that played the World Cup in 2008.
Virat Kohli Cricket Career Highlights 2010-2014: –
Remember the Commonwealth Bank Tri-series in 2011 which was contested in Australia among three of the best cricketing nations of that time India, Australia, and Srilanka. This series saw the birth of Virat Kohli. With India requiring to score 320+ odd runs within 40 overs to stay in title contention and with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag back to the pavilion, the person had the accurate opportunity to show the world he belonged where he is. What happens next in the match though? This young positively aggressive boy from Delhi gives us a batting master class. With the experienced Gautum Gambhir and Suresh Raina to his aid, he runs through Srilanka’s bowling attack. With a barrage of boundaries Kohli takes down the best bowler of the time Lasith Malinga. You can still picture that flick shot he played for six over the square boundary.
In the year 2012, Kohli scored by far his highest score in one-day internationals. The situation? Again, a run chase. After chasing the leather of Nasir Jamshed’s bat in the first innings Virat was up for the task. He smacked 183 runs and bought the team home. 2013 was a big year. It was very eventful. Virat was turning into his run machine mode and the Aussies felt the pangs of it. In two consecutive games against the Aussies, India chased down 350+ scores like an absolute cakewalk. The reason behind it, Virat scoring the fastest 100 by an Indian in ODI history in the first game and ruthlessly slamming bowlers for another 100 in the second game. India won the Champions Trophy that year too. Virat scored a 50 in the final which was reduced to a 20–20 game due to rains. 2014 saw his emergence as 20–20 batsmen. A player with total dominance and that too all by playing grounded shots. He was named “Player of the Tournament” and India finished Runners up.
Virat Kohli Career Highlights 2014-Present: –
Then came the difficult phase of his career. In 2014 itself, when India toured England, the series was turning into a nightmare. Every bowl outside off stump was taking his bat’s edge and flying to the slip quadrant. His inability to play balls outside off was evident. Hold on!! Hold on!! Champions never give up, isn’t it? What happens next in the series down under is absolute carnage. Virat scores two hundred in consecutive innings of a test match. He dominates the entire series like a boss!! The likes of Mitch Johnson, Mitch Starc everyone seemed to be ineffective against Kohli. In 2015, Kohli plays the world cup game against arch-rivals Pakistan and scores a ton. That very inning specifies how dominant a player he was.
The following year he made the bowlers dance to his tunes. 4 hundred in one IPL season for RCB, he scored 973 cumulative runs a record which is till now very much untouched. This year India also plays the 20–20 world cup. This time around too he scores the maximum runs and is said to be the “Player of the Tournament”. By this time Virat had been given titles such as “RUN MACHINE”, “CHASE MASTER”, etc. 2017 saw the arrival of CAPTAIN KOHLI. India went into the trophy as firm favorites and dominated this tournament too. We ended up as Runners Up. The world had now realized that what they had been witnessing as of now was not only a fit person on the field but also a strategical thinker of the game. In the following years, the same ordeal was repeated and Virat ended up scoring 7 200+ scores in test matches, won the player of the decade award, and also earned the title “KING KOHLI”.
Virat Kohli Achievements: –
- 2013 – Arjuna Award
- 2017 – Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award.
- 2018 – Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honor
- Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Decade): 2011–2020
- Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Cricketer of the Year): 2017, 2018
- ICC ODI Player of the Year: 2012, 2017, 2018
- ICC Test Player of the Year: 2018
- ICC ODI Team of the Year: 2012, 2014, 2016 (captain), 2017 (captain), 2018 (captain), 2019 (captain)
- ICC Test Team of the Year: 2017 (captain), 2018 (captain), 2019 (captain)
- ICC Spirit of Cricket: 2019
- ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade: 2011–2020
- ICC Men’s Test Team of the Decade: 2011–2020 (captain)
- ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Decade: 2011–2020
- ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Decade: 2011–2020
- Polly Umrigar Award for International Cricketer of the Year: 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
- Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World: 2016, 2017,[419] 2018
- CEAT International Cricketer of the Year: 2011–12, 2013–14, 2018–19
- Barmy Army – International Player of Year: 2017, 2018