17 years of magic: How Virat became King Kohli

• Virat Kohli debuted for India in 2008; now he has 550 international matches.
• He's the first to score 50 ODI centuries and led India to multiple ICC titles.
• Kohli became Test captain, achieving historic wins, and is regarded as a cricket great.

On August 18 2008, 19-year-old Virat Kohli made his international debut for India in an ODI match against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. Earning the limelight after leading the junior Indian team to the Under-19

World Cup triumph that year, Kohli was being looked at as a promising young talent. However, it wasn’t a great debut for Kohli as he got out after scoring just 12 runs in that game.

Now, after 17 years and 550 international matches, Virat Kohli is now regarded as one of the greatest players to ever play the game of cricket. A young boy hailing from Delhi is now popular with the title of 'King Kohli' and has inspired millions of aspiring cricketers across the globe. However, Kohli didn’t earn the title of king in just one day. There have been several instances where Kohli turned out to be a genuine match-winner and guided his team to a thrilling win from difficult situations over the years. Let’s have a look at how Virat Kohli became king of cricket.

Virat Kohli International Career

Format	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Catches	St
Tests	123	210	13	9230	254*	46.85	16608	55.57	30	31	1027	30	121	0
ODIs	302*	290	45	14181	183	57.88	15192	93.34	51	74	1325	152	161	0
T20Is	125	117	31	4188	122*	48.69	3056	137.04	1	38	369	124	54	0

The chase master

Virat Kohli has pulled several match-winning run chases in his career from a point when there was no chance for his team to win. His 133-run knock against Sri Lanka in Hobart in 2012 is still considered as one of his iconic ODI knocks in run chases. Apart from that, his highest ODI score of 183 runs also came while chasing a target of 330 runs against Pakistan during the 2012 Asia Cup. He mastered the art of run chasing very early in his career and became a key player for India in tough run chases. He has over 8000 runs with an average near 64 in run chases in ODIs. His 82-run knock against Australia in the T20 World Cup 2016 and another 82-run knock against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 are considered two of his greatest knocks in the shortest format for India.

Virat Kohli’s records in runchases

ODIs

Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	BF	SR	100s	50s	0s	4s	6s
2008-2025	167	160	34	8064	183	64.00	8649	93.23	28	41	4	797	86

T20Is

Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	BF	SR	100s	50s	0s	4s	6s
2010-2024	53	48	18	2013	94*	67.10	1475	136.47	0	20	1	174	53

Only player to reach 50 ODI 100s

When Sachin Tendulkar ended his career with 49 ODI hundreds, it was being looked at as an unachievable feat for any other batter to surpass this and score 50 centuries in the ODI format. However, Virat Kohli defied all odds and became the first-ever batter to complete 50 centuries in the ODI format. Interestingly, Kohli went on to complete his 50th ODI ton with Sachin in stands during the ODI World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 15, 2023. Currently, Kohli has 51 centuries from 302 ODI matches in his career so far.

Virat Kohli ODI career

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s
302	290	45	14181	183	57.88	15192	93.34	51	74	1325	152

Highest run-getter in T20 World Cup

Virat Kohli has an unmatched legacy for India in the T20 World Cup history. Playing his first edition of the T20 World Cup in 2012, Kohli went on to dominate almost every edition with his bat and went on to play some of his iconic knocks in the shortest format. With 314 runs in 2014, 273 runs 2016 and 296 runs in 2022, Kohli went on to become one of the greatest batters of the T20 World Cup and has been a lone warrior for India in several editions in the tournament. In 2024, Kohli finally got a reward of his excellence from the last 12 years as India ended up winning the T20 World Cup that year. Kohli ended his T20I career as a World Cup champion.

Virat Kohli in T20 World Cup

Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	BF	SR	100s	50s	0s	4s	6s
2012-2024	35	33	11	1292	89*	58.72	1003	128.81	0	15	2	111	35

Most ICC titles as a player

Virat Kohli joins Ricky Ponting in the list to win ICC titles as a player. The journey began when Kohli led the young Indian team to the U-19 World Cup triumph in 2008. After that, playing his first ODI World Cup edition as a player, Kohli was a part of the Indian team that lifted the most coveted trophy after 28 years in 2011. In 2013, Kohli played a crucial role in India’s Champions Trophy triumph in 2013. After that, Virat Kohli and Team India had to wait for 11 years for an ICC title as Men in Blue lifted the T20 World Cup in 2024. Kohli, who had an off-season, scored a crucial 76 runs in the final and became Player of the Match in his final T20I for India. Less than a year later, India won the Champions Trophy in 2025 and Kohli ended up lifting his fifth ICC title as a player.

Year	Tournament	Contribution
2008	U-19 Cricket World Cup	235 runs
2011	ODI World Cup	282 runs
2013	Champions Trophy	176 runs
2024	T20 World Cup	151 runs
2025	Champions Trophy	218 runs

Number 1 ranking in every format

Virat Kohli was first player from India to get the highest ICC ranking in every format of the game. Kohli had his best years as an international cricketer in the decade of 2010s. He first achieved the number one ranking in the ODI format in November 2013. After that, he went on to rule the 50-over format and remained as number 1 ODI batter in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 respectively. Apart from the ODIs, Virat Kohli won player of the tournament in the 2014 T20 World Cup and the 2016 T20 World Cup respectively and also finished as number one batter in the shorter format in both the years. Talking about the Test format, Kohli was crowned as number one batter in the longest format in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Format	Career Span	Matches	Runs	Years to achieve number 1 ICC ranking
Tests	2011 - 2025	123	9230	2018, 2019
ODIs	2008 - Present	302	14181	2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
T20Is	2010 - 2024	125	4188	2014, 2016

Greatest Test captain of India

Virat Kohli is regarded as the greatest captain of India in the Test format. After Kohli took over as Test captain in 2014-15, the Indian team was ranked seventh in the ICC Test ranking. After that, an unforgettable era of Indian dominance in Test cricket started. Under his captaincy, India won the Test series in Sri Lanka for the first time after 22 years in 2015 followed by defeating then number one Test side South Africa in a home Test series. Kohli also became the first India captain to win a Test series in Australia.

Virat Kohli as Test captain

Span	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	NR	W/L	%W	%L	%NR	%
2014-2022	68	40	17	0	11	0	2.35	58.82	25.00	-	70.17