Virat Kohli, Indian skipper and batting superstar

Virat Kohli is the
skipper of the Indian cricket team in all formats of the game. However, he
announced that the ICC T20 World Cup will be his last tournament leading the team in the shortest format of the game.

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He started off as a spunky, chubby teenager who was assigned the nickname ‘chiku’ by the seniors in the dressing room. He burst onto the
scene as the captain of India’s Under-19 World Cup winning side. With an impressive
campaign under his belt, it was clear from the very start that he was built for
a successful career ahead.

Kohli’s personality
certainly stood out during his first few years due to his agressive nature,
in a team of calm and composed figures, and was not afraid to speak his mind
unfiltered on the pitch. He made his debut for the senior side in 2008 against
Sri Lanka and while he had an amazing tournament it was not enough to break
into the side as a regular just yet.

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With time, Kohli exceeded
expectations and largely came to be known as the successor of legendary batter
Sachin Tendulkar. It would not be wrong to say that he has managed to fulfil that
destiny to an extent, dominating all forms of the game with his batting prowess.

He has been India’s cushion as the team can always count on him to score runs. On top of
that, his captaincy raised the bar for the team as he never stops demanding more
from the unit and constantly pushes the players to do better.

The 32-year-old has amassed 7,765 runs in Tests; 12,069 runs in ODIs and 3159 runs in T20 Internationals.  

He was the fastest to reach 12,000 runs in ODIs and is expected to add a lot more runs to the tally and also has the third most hundreds in the game (70). 

Kohli led India to their
first-ever Test series win in Australia and is the country’s
most skipper in the format. He has won 37 matches, lost 15 and drawn 11 out of 63 fixtures. 

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Another thing that he
is always commended for is pushing the Indian side towards much improved
fitness levels, something not always considered as important previously. The
difference that fitness makes in a player’s game is crystal clear.

In the Indian Premier
League, Kohli is the marquee player of the franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore
and he has reiterated on several occasions that he will stay with the team as
long as he plays in the domestic tournament.

He tied the knot with Indian
actress Anushka Sharma in 2017 after a long term relationship and the couple
became parents of a baby girl in January, 2021.