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Virat Kohli is probably the biggest name in the cricket world in modern-day cricket. The former Indian captain is celebrating his 36th birthday today, November 5. He has been a role model for the current generation who has achieved immense success in his 15 years of international cricket.
From his early days to becoming the global icon of the game, he has gone through many journeys. His career started when he led India to win the U19 World Cup 2008, and his international career started in 2008. His determination, consistency, and unparalleled skill across all formats have put him among the greatest of all time and certainly the greatest in the current generation of superstars.
He has won 10 ICC awards, which is the most by any player in the history of the game. Virat Kohli is one of those Indian athletes to be honoured with the Arjuna Award, Khel Ratna Award, and Padma Shri Award. So, let’s talk about some interesting records and facts about King Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli: Early Life and Career
Born on November 5, 1988, in Delhi, Virat grew up and took professional training at West Delhi Academy. He made his first appearance in competitive cricket when he represented the Delhi U15 team in 2002. During the Viraj-Merchant Trophy 2003-4, he was the leading scorer for his Delhi U19 team.
His first List A game for Delhi was against Services (the Indian Armed Forces team) in February 2006. His debut FC innings were of just ten runs against Tamil Nadu in November 2006. Next month, he played a hard-fought innings of 90 runs against Karanataka to help Delhi draw a game.
8k to 13k – fastest to every single one.
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 5, 2024
Happy birthday, Virat Kohli 🙌🏻#OnThisDay https://t.co/aItyvjJLyw pic.twitter.com/OjftWa5Xsz
In his T20 debut against Himachal Pradesh in April 2007, he scored 35 runs. The breakthrough in his career came when he led India U19 to win the 2008 World Cup held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It earned him his IPL contract with Royal Challengers Bengaluru for USD 30000. He also played his first match for India in the same year.
Interesting Facts about Virat Kohli
- Virat Kohli made his international debut in 2008.
- He is one of the few players to win the ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy, and Test Mace.
- In the IPL, he is the only player who has never featured in the auction.
- He is the first Asian captain to win test matches in Australia, England, and South Africa.
- First Indian batter to score a century on his debut in the ODI World Cup.
- Only bowler to take wicket without a legal delivery.
- Most followed cricketer in the world and one of the most followed sportsperson worldwide.
- Highest tax-payee cricketer across the globe.
- In 2013, Virat Kohli featured in the top ten dressed men in the world by renowned GQ magazine. That list also featured then-US President Barack Obama.
- In 2012, Virat became the youngest player to win the ODI Cricketer of the Year for his 1381 runs in 34 innings in 2011.
Unbreakable records of Virat Kohli
1. Most Double Centuries as Test Captain
Virat Kohli holds the record for most double centuries by an Indian batter. He has 7 scores of 200 or more in the longest format. All those scores came as a captain, which is a world record. Brian Lara held the previous record for most double century as test captain (5), but in December 2017, he rewrote history and scored 7 double hundred as test captain.
2. Most runs in a single edition of ODI World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 was phenominal for India and Virat Kohli, except the final. India were undefeated throughout but were unlucky to lose the final against Australia. However, Virat Kohli was at his best in that tournament. He went on to score 765 runs in 11 innings, at an average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.31 with three centuries and six half-centuries. With this, he made the record for most runs in a single edition of the ODI World Cup.
3. Most runs in ODI Bilateral Series
Not just in an ODI World Cup edition, Virat Kohli also holds the record for most runs in an ODI bilateral series (series between two nations). In India’s tour of South Africa 2017/18, Virat knotched up 558 runs in just six innings at an average of 186 and a strike rate of 99.46, with three centuries and one half-century. It is still a world record.
4. Only Player with 50+ average in international cricket
Virat Kohli has scored over 27000 runs across all three formats in international cricket. But in the history of this game, he is the only batter with an average of over 50 in international cricket for batters over 10,000 or more. Virat has scored 27134 runs at an average of 52.78.
5. Most Centuries in ODI Cricket
Sachin Tendulkar retired with 49 ODI hundreds, and not many thought that that record would be broken one day. But Virat Kohli made it real, and not just he broke Sachin’s record but also went on to touch the 50-century mark in ODI cricket. Virat has 50 hundreds in 295 games and is the only player in history to achieve this feat.
6. Most Player of the Series award in Cricket
Virat is a big-match player, and his consistency is shown in how he led India to win various series and tournaments. He holds the record for most Player of the Series awards in the history of the game. Virat has won 21 POTS awards across formats in his career, surpassing Sachin’s tally of 20 awards.
7. Most ODI hundreds against one team
Virat’s ODI record is impeccable, and he holds many records. But one of his unbreakable records is of scoring most ODI tons against a single opponent. Not against one but two nations. Virat has scored 10 ODI centuries against Sri Lanka and 9 against West Indies, which is the most against these two nations in history and most by a batter against a team in ODIs.
8. Fastest to 8000 to 13000
Virat Kohli reched 8000 ODI runs in his career in his 175th innings. He is the fastest batter to do so. But after that, until 13000 ODI runs, he is the fastest to reach the multiple of 1000 ODI runs. He completed 9000 runs in 194 innings, 10000 runs in 205 innings, 11000 runs in 222 innings, 12000 runs in 242 innings, and 13000 runs in 267 innings, respectively.
9. Most runs in ICC events
Not just in bilateral series, Virat also holds the record for most runs in ICC event history. He has scored a total of 3616 runs in ICC events, which include the ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy. It shows that he has scored runs in big events as well.
10. Most Decorated Player in the History
Virat has won 10 ICC awards, which is the most ever in history. In 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2023, Virat received the ICC ODI Player of the Year title four times in a row. He also received the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, which is awarded to the ICC Cricketer of the Year, two times: in 2017 and 2018. Then in 2018, he became the very first player to receive both the ICC ODI and Test Player of the Year accolades in the exact same year. He was selected as Wisden’s Leading Cricketer in the World for a period of three in a row, from 2016 to 2018.
