A chubby, plucky teenager with gel hair shot to fame after leading India to victory at the Under-19 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur in early 2008. before he transforms into the ‘bad boy‘ form.
Virat Kohli’s information
Born on November 5, 1988, in New Delhi, Virat Kohli is an Indian international cricketer and former captain of the India National Cricket Team. According to his family, Kohli showed an early interest in Cricket when he was only 3 years old. He would pick up a cricket bat, show off his natural skills, and ask his father to throw the ball to him.
In 1998, the West Delhi Cricket Academy (WCDA) was founded, and Prem Kohli, espousing his son’s passion for cricket, supported nine-year-old Virat Kohli’s aspirations and soon arranged for him to meet Rajkumar Sharma. Sharma initially sees Virat as just an enthusiastic and determined boy, but 2 weeks later, he is impressed by Kohli’s accuracy and throwing power.
According to Sharma’s recollections of Kohli’s early days at the academy, he showed remarkable talent, making it difficult for the coach to contain his enthusiasm. Kohli remains ready to fight at any position, and Sharma often has to force him out of training sessions because he does not want to leave. To pursue his cricketing career, Virat Kohli transferred to Savior Convent School while in class 9. Over time, he diligently honed his skills and diversified his range, earning the respect of local pitchers.
But, the bad news happens with the young boy. On 18 December 2006, Kohli suffered the death of his father due to a brain attack, who played an important role in supporting his cricket practice. Kohli credits his father as the person who took him to practice every day. He has repeatedly expressed how he misses his father’s presence. After the death of Kohli’s father, his mother, Saroj Kohli noticed a significant change in his personality. Virat Kohli seemed to grow up overnight as he started taking every cricket match seriously. He seemed to devote his entire life to the pursuit of cricket after the sudden death of his father.
Cricket career
Domestic career
Kohli’s cricket career began in October 2002 at the Luhnu cricket ground in the Polly Umrigar match against the host state Himachal Pradesh. In his first match, Kohli scored a total of 15 runs. His first half-century in national cricket came at Ferozishah Kotla, where he scored 70 against Harayana. By the end of the season, Kohli had amassed a total of 172 runs, becoming his team’s highest run-scorer with an average of 34.40.
He then made his first-class debut on 23 November 2006, in the opening match of the Ranji Trophy season against Tamil Nadu. However, his first innings was quite short, as he was dismissed after scoring 10 runs. In three consecutive matches, Kohli failed to score a fifty, prompting his coaches to give him advice. In the next match against former champions Karnataka, Delhi was bowled out for 130/5, with Kohli remaining unbeaten on 40 at the end of the day’s play. That same night, Virat Kohli’s father passed away at 3:54 am. Despite the heartbreaking news, Kohli returned to play and continued to bat and score 90 runs before being dismissed.
Team coach Chetan Chauhan was impressed by Kohli’s dogged determination and steadfast attitude in the face of adversity. Venkatesh Prasad also praised his decisive shot, which was taken amid high emotions. The team’s captain, Mithun Manhas, praised Kohli’s performance, acknowledging his pivotal role in the team’s success. After being fired, Virat Kohli immediately attended his father’s funeral.
During the 2009–10 Ranji Trophy season, Virat Kohli returned to domestic cricket. In the match against Maharastra, he opened the batting and scored 67 runs, helping Delhi get the bonus point needed to win. Kohli’s performance has reignited the competitive spirit of domestic cricket.
International career
On 18 August 2008, Kohli made his international debut at the age of 19 in the first ODI of the tour, in the fourth match of the series, Kohli achieved his maiden half-century in the ODI format, with a total of 54 runs scored. In October 2008, Virat Kohli took part in a four-day match against Australia as a member of the Indian Board President’s XI. The match featured a formidable Australian bowling lineup including Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Jason Krejza. Despite this, Kohli demonstrated his batting ability by scoring 105 runs in the first innings and an unbeaten 16 in the second, demonstrating his ability to play at a high level internationally.
Kohli’s first foray into a leadership role at the international level occurred in May–June 2010, when he was appointed vice-captain for the tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe. However, in the first match, Kohli was sent down for a diamond duck, a rare and unusual form of dismissal.
Kohli was replaced as captain for the first ODI of the triangular series in the West Indies after Dhoni was injured during the match. In his second match as captain, Kohli scored his maiden century as captain, making 102 off 83 balls against West Indies at Port of Spain to win India a bonus point. At the end of the series, Kohli moved to the top spot in the ICC ODI batsmen rankings for the first time in his career.
2023 Wold Cup
At the start of the year, Kohli began his century campaign against the touring Sri Lankan team in the ODIs. In the third match of the series, Kohli put in a phenomenal performance, scoring an unbeaten 166 from 110 balls. This century, his 21st in India, marked a milestone as he surpassed all other players to score the most domestic ODI centuries. Additionally, his performance in this match made him the fifth-highest run-scorer in ODI cricket, ahead of Mahela Jayawardene. After Kohli’s performance, India went on to win the third ODI by a record 317 runs.
In February-March 2023, Virat Kohli played in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar series. He faced a series of low scores in the first three Tests, before playing a disciplined and correct innings. technique, in the final test at Ahmedabad. He amassed a total of 186 runs in the match and this was his first century in the format in three years. Before his 500th international match, Rahul Dravid described Virat Kohli “Longevity comes with a lot of hard work, discipline, adaptability and he has shown all of that“.
On 20 July 2023, Virat Kohli became the 10th player to play in 500 international matches. Among Indians, only Sachin Tendulkar(664), M.S. Dhoni (538) and Rahul Dravid (509) have appeared in more international matches than Kohli. Incidentally, Kohli has the highest run total (25582) among these players in their first 500 matches. He made the occasion even more special by scoring his 29th Test century and becoming the first player to score over 50 in their 500th international match.
In August 2023, he was selected in the Indian squad for the 2023 Asian Cup. In the opening match against Pakistan, Virat Kohli scored only 4 runs before being bowled by Shaheen Afridi. However, the match was postponed due to rain. He was unbeaten in the second match against Nepal as India won the match without losing any wickets. However, in the next match against Pakistan, Kohli scored a brilliant hundred and forged an unbeaten 233-run partnership with KL Rahul, becoming the highest partnership in the history of the tournament.
During the match, he also achieved the milestone of being the fastest batsman to score 13,000 ODI runs. He achieved the milestone in his 267th innings surpassing Sachin Tendulkar, who took 321 innings to achieve this feat.
After equaling the 49th ODI Hundred record on Tendulkar at the 35th Birthday, Virat Kohli kept going and broke the record with his centuries in the 1st match against Australia, scoring the 50th ODI Hundred, becoming the Most ODI Hundred in a single edition.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024
Virat Kohli and his team won the second title of the T20 World Cup in the 2024 edition. In this ICC tournament season, Virat Kohli was a terrible form when he only scored 75 runs before playing the Final match against South Africa. However, the King returned his form right in the crucial match, smashing 76 off 59 balls and claiming the Player of the Match award.
The winning was also the last performance of the two legendary cricketers. In the interview after the match, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their retirement from T20Is. Both cricketers still represent India in the ODI and Test formats.
Transform to ‘bad boy’ of India Cricket Team
Throughout his entire career, there has been one change that shows Kohli’s maturity most clearly. Ashish Nehra, who used to be his coach said:
“I did not see him waste his time. If not on the field, he would be busy in the gym. I saw him first as a chubby-cheeked bubbly young kid who grew into a perfect athlete. His junior cricket lessons have obviously helped him. I did not now him well, but had heard a lot about his exploits in junior cricket”.
This is the image of Virat Kohli in 2009 when he was a young boy:
And this is him in 2023:
He looks more mature, fit, and more ‘bad boy‘ than his old version, right?
Conclusion
In short, Virat Kohli was an Indian Cricketer who had a lot of skill and experience in the Cricket sport. The proof is that the achievements that he has taken for his entire career are uncountable. In the future, his achievements will continue to increase.
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