After the phenomenal success in 2011, world champions India had quite an uphill task at hand to build a side for the next generation. The likes of Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly and Kumble were slowly bidding farewell to the game and a huge void was therefore created in the absence of the stalwarts. However, unlike most teams that fall into deep trouble in the transition period, India, fortunately, found a promising generation that had the calibre to take India cricket forward and higher. And the one who remained at the forefront of the transition and emerged to be one of cricket’s all-time greats was Virat Kohli. Over the years of his illustrious career, Kohli earned a plethora of tags for his numerous accolades. Be it the chase master or the run-machine, his unchallenged dominance over a decade saw him rise as the King.
From Run-machine To Captain Fearless
King Kohli as he is fondly called by fans, ruled the roost across all formats of the game. With 71 international centuries, the former Indian skipper is in the joint second position in the list of batters with the most hundreds. In his stint as the captain of the Men In Blue, India’s poor form in Tests saw a pleasant change and his aggressive leadership made the side fierce visitors overseas. Kohli became the first ever Asian captain to defeat the Aussies in a Test series down under.
| In Numbers | Tests | ODI | T20I | IPL |
| Matches | 102 | 262 | 104 | 223 |
| Aggregate | 8074 | 12344 | 3584 | 6624 |
| Average | 49.53 | 57.68 | 51.94 | 36.20 |
| Strike-rate | 55.69 | 92.84 | 138.38 | 129.15 |
| 100s | 27 | 43 | 1 | 5 |
| 50s | 28 | 64 | 32 | 44 |
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Team India regained its spot at the top of the ICC Test rankings. Under his captaincy, India were runners-up in the inaugural ICC WTC and ICC CT 2017. As a sportsman, Kohli made his place globally as the undisputed king of cricket. Forbes named him one of the 100 most influential personalities in the world in 2016. ICC adjudged Kohli as ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Decade(2011-20) by awarding him with Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy. Amongst national awards, Kohli received India’s highest sporting honour Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award (previously Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award) in 2018. He is also the recipient of India’s fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri.
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A modern-day legend
His attacking fearless mindset inspired millions of people all across the globe. And he is by far, one of the most respected names in the field of sports worldwide. A super consistent run-scorer in all formats, Kohli’s slump in form post the pandemic came as a shock to everyone. However, he made a stupendous comeback in the Asia Cup 2022. He once again proved that form might be temporary but class is permanent. Having played over 450 international matches so far, the modern-day great still has a lot more to deliver. With plenty of milestones still on the brink of his reach, the wait is only for the majesty to walk down the park every time to carry along with his usual business of slaying bowlers and winning matches for his team.
