On August 18, 2008, an unheralded 19-year-old Virat Kohli walked out to open the batting for India against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. Fresh from captaining the Under-19 side to World Cup glory earlier that year, the Delhi batter managed just 12 runs off 22 balls before falling LBW to Nuwan Kulasekara as India collapsed to 146 and lost by eight wickets.
He is among the few to have won every major white-ball ICC trophy. Kohli’s early years were about proving himself in a star-studded Indian lineup featuring the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and MS Dhoni. He returned stronger, rewriting records well into his mid-30s.
He scored his first ODI fifty in that debut series and his maiden century against Sri Lanka in 2009. Team success has matched individual brilliance: Under-19 World Cup (2008, as captain), ODI World Cup (2011), Champions Trophy (2013 and 2025), T20 World Cup (2024), multiple Asia Cups, and finally IPL titles with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2025 and 2026. As of August 2026, the 37-year-old continues as an ODI specialist, still producing consistent performances and eyeing further World Cup success.
The 2010s defined his greatness. Kohli’s limited-overs record is unmatched in the modern era. He is the fastest to multiple ODI run milestones and remains one of the highest run-scorers in the format’s history. Shortly afterward, he retired from T20 internationals, later stepping away from Tests as well, to focus solely on ODIs.
By the 2011 World Cup, he was a key contributor as India lifted the trophy on home soil. Between 2010 and 2019, Kohli scored a record 20,960 international runs – the most by any player in a single decade – at an average of 57.58, with 69 centuries. In Tests, he transformed from a shaky starter into a dominant force, scoring seven double centuries (the most by an Indian captain) and leading India to historic series wins, including their first in Australia in 2018-19. As Test captain, he secured a record 40 victories for India. He holds the record for the most ODI centuries (54), becoming the first to reach 50 during the 2023 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, where he also piled up a tournament-record 765 runs. In T20Is, he finished as the leading run-scorer in T20 World Cup history (1,292 runs). His crowning moment came in the 2024 final against South Africa, where a measured 76 earned him Player of the Match as India claimed the title.
