Virat Kohli

Profile

Daring, tough and fiercely talented - Virat Kohli is one of the emerging faces of Indian cricket's next generation. The likes of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh were all that and more when they first donned blue flannels for India, but this lad has broken the mould to carve a niche of his own.

Kohli's claim to fame came when he captained India's World Cup winning Under-19 side and was immediately propelled into the lucrative Twenty20 tournament – the Indian Premier League in 2008. Devoid of noteworthy performances in the tournament, his domestic form still won him an India ODI cap on tour to Sri Lanka in the same year. The Delhi lad was initially deployed up and down the batting line-up, from replacing Virender Sehwag as an opener to accelerating the middle-order momentum. After 25 ODI innings, he had already amassed 10 fifty-plus scores including two centuries. An assurance evident in his shot selection and footwork, he was rarely found wanting with his technique even on bowler-friendly surfaces abroad. Sure, there have been dull phases in which he performed below par, but he has so far managed to bounce back from every rut that he's fallen into.

The aggressive right-hander had a marvellous 2010 where he amassed around 1000 runs in a calendar year and continued his form in 2011 by scoring a century in his maiden World Cup match against Bangladesh; along with being a consistent contributor with the bat throughout the tournament. An agile fielder, Kohli has been electric in the field, saving valuable runs for his team. The wait for a Test cap wasn’t long as he quickly made it to the Test team in 2011 against the West Indies. But, the strongest evidence of his mettle came later in the year, when he stood like a rock in India’s tour to Australia, scoring a blistering ton when the entire team fell like nine pins. His efforts were paid off and Kohli was handed over the vice-captaincy of the Indian team ahead of the 2012 Asia Cup. A year later, he was appointed captain of the Bangalore for season six.
 

Fast Facts

• Virat Kohli became the third Indian player - after Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina - to score two centuries before turning 22.

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Career

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