Some people are born to create a legacy of their own, taking the world by storm across different eras. The lady luck seems to go their way even in dire circumstances. However, one cannot succeed in life without putting the hard yards and creating an opportunity by consistently knocking on the door.
The story of Virat Kohli, the skipper of Indian cricket team is a perfect example of combining the god’s gift with sheer hard work and determination. Known as a swashbuckling batsman and a living legend in the world of cricket, Kohli was always destined to achieve a lot in his career, owing to the natural talent he possessed from a very young age. But, the superstar knew the rules of universe from the very beginning and never shied away from following the set process religiously.
Born in 1988, Virat was raised in Uttam Nagar, New Delhi. His father was a criminal lawyer, while his mother was a housewife. Kohli was the youngest child of his parents, who was admitted in Bharti Public School. However, his love for the cricket was evident from a very young age, as he used to pick up his bat and swing it repeatedly at the age of three.
At the age of 9, Virat was taken to the West Delhi academy to learn cricket. He was trained under Rajkumar Sharma, before getting an opportunity to play for Delhi under 15 in Dec 2002-03. Subsequently, Virat became the captain in 2003-2004 for Polly Umrigar Trophy. He received a shot in the arm when he got selected for under 17 team, wherein he scored 470 runs at an average of 117.50, coupled with two centuries.
Virat Kohli was taking decent strides in his cricketing career, before he was struck by a major tragedy. He lost his father at the age of 18, but the very next day, Virat was on the cricket field to play a match saving knock for Delhi against Karnataka. Although he consistently scored runs in the 2006-2007 season, it was in 2008 when Kohli shot into the limelight, leading India to victory in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup.
The selectors were impressed with Virat’s performance and picked him to play as a middle order batsman in the senior team. He batted well in the team India’s campaign of 2009 Champions Trophy, before helping India win the 7 match series against Australia in the same year. However, experts started to term him as the ODI specialist, a trait that Kohli wanted to get rid of by proving his mettle in the red ball cricket.
After playing a fine hand in team India’s pursuit of winning the world cup at home in 2011, Kohli made his test debut against West Indies after a few months. He failed miserably and ended up being sidelined from the test side. In the later part of the same year, Kohli made his mark after being recalled for the Australia tour. Although Indians were whitewashed in the series, he was the team’s leading run scorer.
Virat Kohli continued to prove his mettle all across the world and was appointed the vice-captain of the ODI team in 2012. In the same year, He scored 183 runs against Pakistan in the Asia Cup and continued to pile on the runs in every series. Kohli went onto become India’s test captain in 2014 and limited overs captain in 2017, besides becoming the fastest player to score 8000, 9,000, 10,000, 11,000 and 12,000 runs in ODI cricket. He has also scored the most number of centuries in run chases in the history of ODI cricket.
Known as one of the best batsmen in the cricketing world, Virat Kohli has achieved more than anyone would have imagined at the start of his career. The prolific player looks set to overhaul several world records while donning the Indian jersey and leading his teams across major cricketing events in the future.
A list of Awards received by Virat Kohli:
- Padma Shri 2017
- ICC ODI Team of the Year
- Wisden Cricketers of the Year 2019
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2018
- Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy 2018
- ICC ODI Player of the Year 2012
- Polly Umrigar Award
- Arjuna Award for Cricket 2013
- ICC Award for Test Player of the Year
- Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World 2018, 2017, 2016
- CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Popular Choice Award 2017
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for Cricket 2018
- People’s Choice Awards India for Favorite Sportsperson 2012
- CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2017
