Legendary Indian cricketer Virat Kohli turned 36 on Tuesday. With a stellar career spanning over 15 years, Virat Kohli has cemented his position as one of the greatest cricketers of all time. His impressive records and numerous awards are a testament to his dedication and hard work.
Let’s dive into his impressive records and achievements across all formats.
From the days of a being a young, spike-haired prodigy who led India to an iconic ICC U19 World Cup title win at Kuala Lumpur to 2008, Virat has proven himself to be an epitome of consistency, hardwork, top-level fitness, dedication, aggression and various other traits a top-class sportsperson would have.
Having won India some of its biggest matches and spearheaded some of sport’s remarkable run-chases, Virat has evolved from just a classy stroke player to something way more: A statistician’s delight that keeps everyone dissecting and marvelling at his numbers and a symbol of what Indian cricket is in modern age: Aggressive, in-your-face, resillient, razor sharp technically, filled with trophies to the brim and most importanly, a brand that has elevated the sport of cricket to people and places unknown.
Right from his international debut in 2008, Virat has represented India in 118 matches, scoring 9,040 runs at an average of 47.83 with 29 centuries and 31 fifties to his name and a best score of 254*. He is the fourth-highest run-getter and century maker for India in Tests.
Virat’s Test career has witnessed plenty of ups and downs. His form from 2016-2019 is among the greatest peaks in the longest format, having made 4,208 runs in 43 Tests and 69 innings at an average of 66.79, with 16 centuries and 10 fifties.
It was during this period he smashed seven double centuries, the most by a captain in Tests, a record which still stands.
Virat, the Test captain, remains one of the biggest ambassadors for the long format. India’s most successful Test captain ever, he led India to 40 wins in 68 Tests, losing just 17 and drawing 11. His win percentage stood at above 58.
His impact as a Test captain goes beyond the numbers. Development of a highly strict, no-nonsense fitness culture, hunger to win, a never-say die attitude, a number of landmark overseas wins and development of a huge bench strength of fast bowlers contributed to India’s streak of three ICC World Test Championship (WTC) mace wins from 2017-19 and their qualification for WTC final in 2021 and 2023 when it was turned into a full-fledged league competition.
ODIs remain Virat’s best format and he arguably is the greatest to grace the format. In 295 ODIs, he has scored 13,906 runs at an average of 58.18, with 50 centuries and 72 fifties. His best score is 183 in this format. He is the third-highest run-getter in ODIs and second-highest among Indians.
Virat is the only player to have had scored 50 centuries in ODIs, going past Sachin Tendulkar’s record during the World Cup 2023 semifinal against New Zealand last year at Wankhede Stadium, right in front of Sachin, a man he grew up idolising, like millions of kids.
The ‘King Kohli’ has showcased his best in the 50-over format, owning plenty of records. He is the fastest player to have reached 8,000 runs (175 innings), 9,000 runs (194 innings), 10,000 runs (205 innings), 11,000 runs (222 innings), 12,000 runs (242 runs) and 13,000 runs (267 innings).
Virat is a “chasemaster” in 50-over format to the core, scoring most runs and centuries in successful run-chases. In 102 such matches, he has scored 5,786 runs at a marvellous average of 90.40, with 23 tons and 25 fifties to his name in 96 innings.
He holds record for most runs in an ODI bilateral series, with 558 runs coming at an average of 186.00 in six matches against South Africa in 2017-18 season, with three centuries and a fifty. His best score was 160*.
Virat has been a part of the team which won the ICC Cricket World Cup (2011) and ICC Champions Trophy (2013) and ended as runners-up of ICC Cricket World Cup (2023) after a 10-match win streak and a heartbreaking loss to Australia in the final.
Though he delivered many memorable knocks in these tournaments, the WC 2023 is his peak as an ODI batter. He ended the tournament as the ‘Player of the Tournament’ with 765 runs in 11 matches at an average of 95.62, with three centuries and six fifties. His best score was 117.
In 50-over World Cup history, Virat is the second-highest run-getter with 1,795 runs in 37 matches at an average of 69.83, with five centuries and 12 fifties.
In ICC Champions Trophy, Virat has scored 529 runs in 13 matches at an average of 88.16 and five fifties to his name in 12 innings.
He was also a fine ODI captain, having won 65 out of 95 ODIs he led the team in, losing 27 and tying one. He took the team to runners-up finish in ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and semifinal of 50-over World Cup in 2019.
Coming to T20Is, Virat scored 4,188 runs in 125 T20Is and 117 innings at an average of 48.69, with a century and 38 fifties to his name. His best score is 122*. He is the second-highest run-getter in this format.
He has won 7 ‘Player of the Series’ awards in the format, the most by any player.
He was also the part of the team which won the T20 World Cup 2024, scoring a match-sealing 76 in the final.
Virat’s exploits in T20 WC have made him one of tournament’s biggest stars.
With 1,292 runs in 35 matches and 33 innings at an average of 58.72 and 15 fifties, he is the highest run-getter in the tournament. He won the ‘Player of the Tournament’ awards in 2014 (319 runs, 6 matches, 106.15 average and four fifties) and 2016 (273 runs, five matches, 136.50 average, three fifties).
In T20I successful run-chases, Virat has scored 1,651 runs in 42 matches and 39 innings, at an average of 78.61, with 16 fifties and best score of 94*. It is the most by a batter in this format.
He also won 30, lost 16, tied two/no result two in 50 T20I matches for India as a captain.
Virat is the only cricketer to have laid his hands on all major ICC titles, the U19 World Cup, the 50-over World Cup, the T20 World Cup and the ICC World Test Championship mace.
Overall in all of international cricket, Virat has scored 27, 134 runs in 538 matches at an average of 52.78, with 80 centuries and 141 fifties. His best score is 254*. He is the third-highest run-getter in all of cricket and second-highest among Indians. His tally of 80 tons is second-highest among all and highest among active players.
He holds the record for most runs by an Indian in a calendar year and overall third-highest, having made 2,818 runs in 2017 in 46 matches and 52 innings at an average of 68.73, with 11 centuries and 10 fifties. His best score was 243.
He has won the most ‘Player of the Series’ honours, with 21 and second-highest ‘Player of the Match’ honours, with 67 in all of cricket.
Virat has scored most runs in successful run-chases in all forms of cricket, with 8,985 runs in 166 matches and 165 innings at an average of 80.94. This also includes 28 centuries, the most by a player and 46 fifties.
He is also the only player to have made 3,000 runs across all ICC senior white-ball tournaments, having made 3,616 runs, including five centuries and 32 fifties.
Virat is also the only player to have won three ‘Player of the Tournament’ awards in ICC events. As an individual, he has won several ICC awards like ICC Player of the Decade 2011-2020, ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year (2 times), ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Decade, ICC ODI Player of the Year (4 times), ICC Test Player of the Year (2018) among others. He was also given the Wisden Leading Cricketer of the World honours in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Virat is also a franchise cricket giant, being the leading run-scorer in Indian Premier League (IPL) history with 8,004 runs for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 252 matches at an average of 38.66 with eight centuries and 55 fifties. His best score is 113*. Despite his efforts, he has never won the IPL.
He has also won the Orange Cap for most runs in an IPL season twice, in 2016 and 2024. In 2016 season, he scored a massive 973 runs with four centuries and seven fifties at an average of 81.08 in 16 matches with a strike rate of above 152.
