Fifteen year on the 22 yards, Virat Kohli completed 15 years in international cricket. His one-day international journey began in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, at a time when Team India featured cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and Gautam Gambhir.
Establishing his own identity among these stalwarts was his biggest challenge at that time. Even before entering Team India, Virat had gained considerable popularity. In the same year, he led the Indian Under-19 cricket team to become World Champions. During that time, selectors recognized the hidden talent and leadership qualities in him. Viart has scored more than 25,000 runs and has 76 centuries to his name in international cricket today. This player, known as “Cheeku” among his childhood friends, quickly rose to become King Kohli in the cricketing world.
In June 2011, after playing his first Test series against the West Indies, Virat returned to India just a month before the team’s tour of Australia. He arrived at the airport, took a shower, and within approximately 40 minutes, he reached the West Delhi Cricket Academy. If there was someone else in his place, It took one to two days to recover from jet lag. There, he engaged in intense practice sessions. His coach, Rajkumar Sharma, mentioned that Virat was dedicated to his game from the very beginning and never hesitated to put in extra hours of practice.
Never backing down from challenges and learning from his mistakes has been Virat’s greatest strength. Remember the 2014 tour of England when he struggled against James Anderson but then, in the subsequent Australian tour, he scored four centuries in Test matches. His performance in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney was exemplary. Similarly, when England visited India, he compensated for his performance in the previous English tour by scoring centuries in Visakhapatnam and Wankhede Stadium. From 2016 to 2018, Virat experienced a golden period in his career, scoring a total of seven double centuries in Test cricket in just two years. In 2016, he achieved four double centuries, one century, and three ODI centuries. In 2017, he scored three double centuries, two centuries, and six ODI centuries. In 2018, he continued his prolific form with three Test centuries and six ODI centuries. These achievements underscore his exceptional career. His aggressive mindset was evident when, despite scoring centuries in both innings of the Adelaide Test, he was unfazed by the team’s loss. This Test marked a turning point in his career, reflecting a change in the team’s mind-set. His partnership with coach Ravi Shastri played a crucial role in India winning several bilateral series. Whether it was matches against Pakistan in the 2015 and 2019 World Cups or the T20 World Cup match in Melbourne, Virat dominated with his bat. In Melbourne, he became the one-man army, hitting crucial sixes in the final overs of the match against Harris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz. He showed the world that he not only knew how to rotate strike but also possessed the power-hitting ability when needed. After these innings, Virat became immensely popular in Pakistan, and even the old West Indian legends recognized his style and started emulating his play.