Virat Kohli

National Team: India National Cricket Team ( TEST ODI T20I )

Domestic Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore ( T20 )

Domestic Team: Delhi cricket team ( FC LO T20 )

Date of Birth: 05.11.1988

Batting Style: Right Hand

Role: Batsman

Bowling Style: -

Batting

Pos. Score

Bowling

Pos. Score

All-rounder

Pos. Score

Test Rankings

15 676

ODI Rankings

2 791

248 106

103 83

T20I Rankings

13 631

416 100

62 63

Virat Kohli - Batsman From India

Virat Kohli is one of India’s greatest batters, a player who for several years kept his batting average above 50.00 across all three major international formats (Tests, ODIs and T20Is). He was named Cricketer of the Decade (2011-2020) and is the most decorated player in the history of international cricket. Let’s take a closer look at the life and achievements of this outstanding athlete.

Virat Kohli: Biography and Sporting Career

The future cricket superstar was born on November 5, 1988, in Uttam Nagar, a bustling area of Delhi. According to family members, Kohli’s love for cricket showed up very early in life thanks to his father, Prem Kohli, a criminal lawyer. When Virat was barely three years old, he picked up a bat for the first time: his father would bowl to him, and the little boy happily tried to knock the ball away.

Watching 10-year-old Virat Kohli play, local residents noticed that he had a special way with the bat and advised Prem to enroll his son in the newly opened West Delhi Cricket Academy. In the biographical book Virat: The Making of a Champion, the athlete himself is quoted as saying:

“I was playing in my colony, and the people there told my father that I should not be playing in the colony and that he should take me to a professional academy. My father took it seriously and took me to Rajkumar sir.”

In May 1998, his father arranged a meeting between Virat and the academy’s founder, former professional cricketer Rajkumar Sharma, under whose guidance the young athlete took his first proper steps in structured cricket. Interestingly, it was Rajkumar who first gave him the nickname “Cheeku”, which roughly translates as “Chubby”. Kohli completed his school education in two stages: up to ninth grade he studied at Vishal Bharti School, and then moved to Saviour Convent School in Paschim Vihar to cut down on travel time to training grounds. Higher education was never part of his long-term plans, and he went all in on his sporting career.

Kohli’s debut for Delhi in 2002 marked the beginning of his transition into top-level sport. After progressing through all the Delhi youth teams, Virat Kohli was finally called up to the India Under-19 side in July 2006 for a series against England’s youngsters. Although he made a successful debut in 2006, he truly broke onto the world stage in 2008, when he captained India to victory at the U19 World Cup in Malaysia. That tournament gold and his personal contribution to the team’s success earned him a ticket to the senior national side.

In less than three years, Virat made his debut for India in all three international formats, quickly adapting to different tempos of the game: if in 2008, in ODI cricket, he was still finding his path, then by the time he debuted in T20Is in 2010 and Tests in 2011, he was already an ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 champion with the national team, having gone from a promising junior to a key batter for India.

Of course, the format of this short piece does not allow us to cover the entire sporting journey of this great cricketer. But even in a brief article like this, it is impossible to ignore Virat Kohli’s massive achievements:

• 2011 – played a key role in India’s ICC Cricket World Cup triumph; became the first Indian to score a century in his World Cup debut match;
• 2012 – ICC ODI Player of the Year (the first of four awards in this category); posted his best individual ODI score of 183 against Pakistan;
• 2013 – won the Champions Trophy with India and climbed to the top of the ICC ODI batting rankings; received the Arjuna Award, one of India’s most prestigious sporting honors;
• 2014-2016 – was named Player of the Tournament at the T20 World Cup twice in a row; set a record for most runs scored – 319;
• 2017 – ICC Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy); Padma Shri; a record 10 international centuries in a calendar year as captain;
• 2017 and 2018 – won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Cricketer of the Year), the ICC’s biggest award, confirming his status as the best player in the world;
• 2018 – became the first player ever to win all three major ICC awards, Cricketer of the Year, ODI Player of the Year, and Test Player of the Year, in the same year;
• 2019 – received the titles of Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World and Wisden Cricketer of the Year;
• 2020 – was named ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Decade;
• 2023 – hit a legendary milestone: Virat surpassed Sachin Tendulkar by scoring his 50th ODI century, becoming the outright world leader in this category;
• 2024 – won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (76 runs in the final and the Player of the Match award);
• 2025 – lifted his second Champions Trophy, once again proving his status as a leader in one-day cricket.

And that’s still not the full list. On top of that, his record haul includes the highest ODI batting average, the most ODI centuries (54), the title of India’s most successful Test captain (40 wins in 68 matches), and the most runs in IPL history (more than 8,600, along with 8 centuries).

After retiring from Test and T20 cricket (in 2024 and 2025), the athlete fully shifted his focus to the ODI format and is currently in tremendous nick, as shown by his 240 runs at an average of 80.00 in a three-match series against New Zealand in January 2026.

As for domestic cricket, all eyes are now on Virat’s return to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) lineup, with the franchise coming in as the reigning IPL champions. By the way, Virat Kohli needs just 339 more runs to set a brand-new milestone and become the first player in history to break the 9,000-run barrier in the IPL. The new Indian Premier League season kicks off for RCB and Kohli on March 28 with a home opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Here’s wishing the player and his team the best of luck!

Virat Kohli: Personal Life and Interesting Facts

Virat Kohli’s personal life is the kind of story that, in India, can rival a Hollywood romance in terms of popularity. His marriage to Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma (December 11, 2017, Tuscany, Italy) turned them into the country’s ultimate power couple, with the media dubbing them “Virushka”. The couple are raising two children: daughter Vamika (born January 11, 2021) and son Akaay (born February 15, 2024).

To wrap up, here are a few interesting facts about the athlete and his mind-blowing stats:

• In 2018, Virat completely changed his diet because of health issues. He gave up meat, which, according to him, helped him reach peak physical condition;
• The athlete is the face of dozens of global brands (Audi, Puma, MRF, and others) and owns the one8 Commune restaurant chain, the WROGN clothing and footwear brand, and his own fitness platform;
• Virat Kohli is the richest cricketer in the world and regularly features in Forbes’ top 100 highest-paid athletes;
• Away from the cricket field, Kohli is known for his charitable work. The Virat Kohli Foundation, established by him in 2013, supports children from low-income families;
• The number 18 on Virat’s jersey is not some random pick. It is a tribute to the most important person in his life, his father, who passed away on December 18, 2006.

As for social media, in March 2021 Kohli became the first Asian cricketer and influencer whose Instagram account (@virat.kohli) crossed the 100 million follower mark. In addition to Instagram, the athlete also runs pages on X (@imVkohli) and Facebook (@virat.kohli).