They have never been short of regal superstars to worship in the cricket-mad country of India, but there will only ever be one ‘King’ in Virat Kohli. Read our feature on the record-breaking Indian cricketing megastar.
Virat Kohli: The Boy Who Would be King
He has 134 million social media followers, is married to a Bollywood actress, has his face adorning billboards all over a country where he is feted, and is worth over £20m a year in endorsements alone, making him one of his sport’s highest paid stars. And when Virat Kohli, the man they call King Kohli, walks out to bat, a nation of millions rises as one to its feet.
And you only need to look at Kohli’s childhood to realise that one of India’s greatest ever sons was always destined to be a national hero. Born in Delhi, the son of a lawyer, by the age of three he was asking his father to bowl at him and he took that hunger with him into his private school. This was no humble upbringing and with relative privilege came opportunity and by the age of 10 he was attending a cricket academy, made his first half century as a 14-year-old and would go on to captain Delhi Under-15s. The road to stardom lay out before him.
Virat Kohli: Early Successes
On a global stage Kohli announced himself as a 19-year-old at the Under-19 World Cup, captaining his nation to glory. Many Indian greats and a fair few wise owls from overseas recognised that this teenage prodigy was gold dust, already a consummate player of spin and pace with a cover drive you could put in a picture frame.
By the end of 2008 so rapid was his rise that he was drafted in to make his debut for India, still aged 19, and responded with a half-century against Sri Lanka in just his third one-day international.
Virat Kohli: Road to Superstardom
Suddenly everyone in India knew of this precocious talent, a future India captain for sure and the man who would carry the mantle of saviour of a nation as the legendary Sachin Tendulkar inched towards retirement.
In 2011 Kohli made his Test debut. Two years later, at a packed Mumbai, Tendulkar, the Little Master, played his final innings for India, scoring 73 against West Indies. There were tears and cheers as the Little Master waved his bat to all corners for the last time and walking past him to the middle was, of course, Kohli. It was like the passing of the baton of greatness.
Virat Kohli: Record Breaker
Since then Kohli has achieved pretty much everything. Over 9,000 Test match runs, close to 14,000 ODI runs, the most centuries in ODI cricket and the most in the IPL. And all done with such grace, such class.
He has won the Cricket World Cup twice and the ICC Champions Trophy and captained his country 68 times in Test cricket. In a sport where stats are sacred, Kohli’s stand comparison with anyone’s. Few wore the crown of greatness with such style and panache as King Kohli.
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