Happy Birthday, Virat Kohli: One of India’s greatest cricketers and most successful captains, Virat Kohli, celebrates his 37th birthday on November 5. Hailed as India’s biggest modern-day batting giant after his idol and maestro, Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli has been a symbol of excellence on the cricket field.
He has represented India in Tests, One-Day Internationals, and T20Is, emerging as an inspiring figure for the generations to follow.
Many rising young talents have named Kohli as their inspiration and expressed their desire to follow in his footsteps at the highest level and also the Indian Premier League, where he has represented the Royal Challengers Bengaluru with great commitment and passion.
While Kohli’s match-winning prowess and dominant
streak against opposition turned him into a fan favourite at an early age, his influential leadership reign and fitness transformation cemented his legacy as one of the most important figures in Indian cricket history.
Happy Birthday Virat Kohli: An Inspiring Cricket Journey
Kohli’s journey has been full of sacrifice and determination to excel. His father and inspiration, Prem Kohli, denied taking any corrupt routes to make his little one play in Delhi’s junior cricket scene. That instilled strong morals in the cricketer in his teenage years.
A heavy scorer in club cricket, Kohli made his first-class debut at 18. An early mark of his strong temperament came when he lost his father in the middle of a Ranji Trophy game against Karnataka in December 2006 and scored a match-saving 90 only hours after attending senior Kohli’s funeral in Delhi.
Identified as a special talent from an early age, Kohli aced the U19 World Cup 2008 in Kuala Lumpur and was fast-tracked into the senior Indian international side for that year’s tour of Sri Lanka. He soon established himself as India’s middle-order star by contributing handsomely in several impressive victories, going on to become one of the greatest players in white-ball cricket.
Kohli had to wait three more years to make his debut in Test match cricket on the 2011 tour of the West Indies. He initially struggled against pace and bounce but proved his doubters wrong by hammering a terrific 75 on the quick and bouncy surface of Perth and following it up with his maiden Test century in Adelaide. The belief Kohli earned from his performances Down Under pushed him to incredible heights.
Happy Birthday Virat Kohli: Stats
- Tests: Kohli ultimately finished his Test career with 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85 with 30 hundreds and a best of 254 not out.
- ODIs: He remains one of the masters of the One-Day International game, having struck 14,255 runs over 305 matches at an average of 57.71 and strike rate of 93.26 with an unparalleled 51 centuries.
- T20Is: The 37-year-old retired from T20Is after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup. Having played several iconic innings, he ended his career in the shortest format with 4,188 runs at a strike rate of 137.04.
- IPL: A symbol of consistency and trust for RCB, Kohli currently has 8,661 runs in the premier T20 league in 267 matches at a strike rate of 132.85.
Happy Birthday Virat Kohli: Records and Achievements
Kohli is India’s fourth-highest run-getter in Tests behind legends Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Rahul Dravid (13,265) and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122 runs). He stands at 19th among the global leading run-scorers in the format.
During his innings of 74 not out against Australia in Sydney recently, the great player became the second highest run-getter ever in One-Day Internationals, surpassing Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (14,234) and inching closer to maestro Tendulkar who ended with 18,426 runs.
A masterful anchor, Kohli also holds the record for most centuries in ODIs. He became the first player to record the 50th century feat in the format when he surpassed Tendulkar with 49 hundreds during the semi-final of the 2023 World Cup versus New Zealand.
Kohli ended his T20I career as the third-best run-getter, having piled on 4,188 runs in 125 matches with a hundred and 38 fifties to his name.
With 40 wins in 68 Tests as captain, Kohli ended as India’s most successful skipper following his seven-year leadership term between December 2014 and August 2021.
Kohli became the first batter to surpass the 8,000-run mark in the Indian Premier League and is the league’s highest ever run-getter currently.
