On this day the Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli celebrates his 32nd birthday. A player of extraordinary talent, Kohli has taken Indian cricket to new heights. He is highly credited for reforming the fitness game of the team.
Kohli is a product of sheer grit and determination, who with his inquisitive and assiduous nature, has propelled himself to this height. Following the footsteps of his idle Sachin Tendulkar, he established himself as the most valuable player of the team.
Kohli is a cricketer of such caliber that he was even exalted by the legendary Sir Vivian Richards as an “already legendary” player way back in 2015. And in all these years, Kohli has indeed established himself as the cricketing legend of this era.
Let’s have a look at some of his most distinguished records.
- Virat occupies the second spot in scoring the most number of ODI centuries by any player, with 43 centuries under his belt.
- In 2017, he became the recipient of the honorary Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian award in India.
- He is the fastest cricketer to reach the milestones of 8000, 9000, 10000, 11000, and 20000 runs.
- He was appointed the team captain for the 2019 Cricket World Cup and in the same year, he achieved the record of scoring the fastest 5000 Test runs as a skipper.
- Kohli is the first-ever batsman to score double tons consecutively in four matches.
- He was named as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for three consecutive years- 2016, 2017, and 2018.
- The top-order batsman is the winner of the honourary Arjun Award as well as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
- A constant player of the IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2008, Kohli scored the most number of runs (973 in 16 games) by any player in the 2016 season of the tournament.
- He is the first Indian batsman to smash a century in his debut World Cup tournament.
- He has won a spot in both the ICC Test Team of the Year and the ICC ODI Team of the year. The former for three consecutive years and the latter six times.
