There are some whose consistent success is admired by everyone. And then, there are others, who are so successful and consistent that if they fail even once, it takes everyone by surprise. Virat Kohli belongs to the second breed. In this blog, we will look at Virat Kohli’s carrier, stats, wife- Anushka Sharma, daughter- Vamika Kohli, unknown facts, IPL, social media, etc.

"To become a good player, you need talent. To become a great player, you need an attitude like Virat Kohli," – Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian cricket legend.

Seeing Sachin Tendulkarhang his boots in 2013 was painful. But the swift rise of King Kohli has alleviated the pain in no time. Both may be poles apart in their attitudes and playing style, perhaps. But one thing (and the one that matters the most) that is similar between them is consistency. Rarely, the cricketing world has seen such a consistent player like Virat Kohli. And what a match-winner is he for India! be it the 133* inning against Sri Lanka, famously dubbed as the Hobart Storm, or the 182 in the classic chase against Pakistan in the 2012 Asia Cup, Kohli never failed to mesmerize us.

Life seems beautiful when Virat punches the ball through the covers. God knows how he manages to pierce the gap every time. Here's one, just a treat to the eyes. Already excited to know about Mr. Consistent? Well then, here’s all you need to know about Virat Kohli.

Virat Kohli Biography

About Virat Kohli

Virat played in a tournament under Rajkumar held at the Delhi Development Authority's Sports Complex ground in Hari Nagar. The tournament consisted of six games. Three league fixtures, a quarter-final, a semi-final, and a final. Rajkumar Sharma remembers that Virat got out only once in the tournament. He was indeed the leading run-scorer in the tournament and was flamboyant with his shots.

But more than the tournament, the most memorable moment in young Virat’s career happened during the presentation ceremony when fast-bowler Ashish Nehra presented him with the Player of the Tournament. Nehra was a superstar back then, having just come back from an excellent 2003 World Cup campaign.

That was just the start of his career. And how far has Virat come from that incident? Well, the world saw the answer on 1st November 2017 when Ashish Nehra announced his retirement from international cricket in a T20I against New Zealand- under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. Phew! That will take some time to sink!

Despite coming in and out of the senior team, Virat was making his mark. This was rewarded by his selection in the 4-team Emerging Players Tournament held between July and August 2009 in Australia.

In the seven games that he played, the 19-year-old scored a massive 398 runs at an average of 66.33, thus ending up as the leading run-scorer in the tournament. Virat also proved that he was arguably the best batting prodigy in the world at that moment.

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The Rise of King Kohli

An injury to Gautam Gambhir provided another lucky recall for Virat, again for a series against Sri Lanka. In the following tournaments including the 2009 Champions Trophy and series against Australia.

It was in the 4th ODI of the Sri Lankan series that Virat hit his first century. His 224-run stand with Gautam Gambhir prompted the latter to hand his ‘Man of the Match’ award to Virat Kohli.

As he grew in performance over the next few years, Virat started to regularly feature for India. 2010 was a path-breaking year for him. King Kohli finished the year with 995 runs at an average of 47.38, making him the highest run-scoring batsman.

And this was a phenomenal achievement for a 22-year-old who was still finding his place amongst established biggies. The year 2010 was really crucial in cementing Virat’s place in India’s starting XI. Virat singled out the tournament as the “turning point” of his career.

King Kohli ODI Career

The title 'Chase Master Virat' which has been conferred to Virat Kohli is more than enough to describe his ODI career. There have been very few in the history of cricket with such god-level of consistency.

Virat has surpassed legends like Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakarra, and Jacques Kallis in the list of most centuries by a batsman.

Virat Kohli currently has 50 ODI centuries. Just to refresh the memories, Virat made his debut in ODIs against Sri Lanka on August 18, 2008. It has been 16 glorious years since that day and still, Virat remains the undisputed king. Virat Kohli reached the number one spot in the ICC rankings for ODI batsmen for the first time in 2013.

In February 2022, West Indian cricket team toured India for a 3-match ODI series and a 3-match T20I series. During the ODI series, Kohli scored 5,000 runs in ODIs. In September 2023, Virat Kohli became the fastest to reach 13,000 runs in ODI cricket. He scored his 50th century in ODI against New Zealand in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

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Virat Kohli Test Career

While there has been a prolonged debate about "Smith vs Kohli: Who's the best test batsman of this generation", there is one thing that can never go unnoticed. Be it any format, Kohli is always the center of comparison. It's either Kane Williamson vs Kohli or Joe Root vs Kohli if not Smith.

Such has been the impact of this champion player "Virat Kohli". Kohli stands fifth on the list of players with most double centuries (7) in test cricket. He achieved the highest ever test rating for any Indian batsman – 937 against England on 22nd August 2018. Kohli masquerades a strong test record with 29 centuries and 30 half-centuries 113 matches.

In February-March 2023, Kohli took part in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar series. His century in this, which included a score of 186 runs, was significant as it came after a period of 1205 days. His most recent Test century came against West Indies at Port of Spain on 20th July, 2023 where he scored 121 runs.

On Monday, Virat Kohli revealed that he will be retiring from Test cricket. In doing so, he becomes the second well-known Indian cricket player to retire from the game’s prolonged format. Kohli is going to keep playing ODIs.

Virat Kohli T20I Career

The first T20 match between Zimbabwe and India in India tour of Zimbabwe, saw Kohli make his T20 international debut. To be specific about the date, it was the 12th of June 2010. Kohli had a brilliant debut! He scored a crucial 26 not out from 21 balls apart from stitching an unbeaten 64 run partnership with Yusuf Pathan. If you look at that day and compare it with Kohli of today, things have changed exponentially.

On 6th December 2019, Kohli again gave evidence of his supremacy in the chase game against West Indies by scoring an unbeaten 94, his highest score in T20Is, and helping India chase down a massive total of 207 runs. This was the Men in Blue’s highest run-chase in T20I.

As of May 2024, Kohli has made 80 centuries and 7 double centuries in international cricket-29 centuries in Test cricket, 50 centuries in ODI, and 1 century in T20I. In international cricket, Kohli became the quickest to score 25,000 runs, shattering Sachin Tendulkar’s record.

Following India’s victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Kohli has already announced his retirement from T20Is. Days after Rohit Sharma declared his intention to retire from Test cricket, Shubman Gill emerged as the front-runner to take his place as captain.

Virat Kohli’s IPL Career

Virat Kohli represents the breed of players who have been a part of only one franchise since the inception of IPL. Mind you! It's a rare breed. Inducted into the Royal Challengers Bangalore side in the year 2008, Kohli has been the face of the franchise.

Kohli was given the responsibility of leading the side in 2013 and has been leading since. There cannot be a tournament in which Kohli doesn't leave his mark.

In the IPL season of 2016, Kohli set records that were shattered. He scored a whopping 973 runs in that season with 4 hundreds and 7 fifties! That's a pretty serious record. Kohli is the leading run-scorer in the Indian Premier League with 7805 runs in 248 matches. In IPL 2023, RCB retained Virat Kohli for Rs 15 Crore.

Virat Kohli had a stellar IPL 2024 season, emerging as RCB’s top scorer with 741 runs in 15 matches at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69, including a century and five fifties. RCB reached the playoffs but were eliminated in the Eliminator.

IPL 2025: This proved to be a historic year for Kohli and RCB, as they secured their first-ever IPL title.Kohli continued his strong form, leading RCB’s scoring charts again with 657 runs in 15 matches at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71, notching eight half-centuries.His crucial 43 runs in the final against Punjab Kings contributed significantly to RCB’s six-run victory, a deeply emotional and long-awaited triumph for him.

Virat Kohli Family

Virat was born in a Punjabi family based in Delhi. His father, Prem Kohli, was a criminal lawyer and his mother Saroj, is a homemaker. Virat has two older siblings, a brother - Vikash and a sister-Bhavna.

When he was hardly three years old, Virat started showing signs of a cricketing career. His father was the one to notice and encourage this talent. He took Kohli to West Delhi Cricket Academy when he was just nine. Rajkumar Sharma was his first coach there and knew right from the beginning that this lad was meant for greatness.

Along with cricket, Virat Kohli was an excellent student in academics as well. His father gave him unconditional support to chase his dreams. Unfortunately, his father couldn't witness his legendary achievements.

When Kohli was just 19, his father passed away due to a stroke. Even then, Kohli showed up in the field the very next day and played a crucial knock for his team in the ongoing Ranji tournament.

“I still remember the night my father passed away as it was the hardest time in my life. But the call to play the morning after my father’s death came instinctively to me. I called my (Delhi) coach in the morning. I said I wanted to play because for me not completing a cricket game is a sin. That was a moment that changed me as a person. The importance this sport holds in my life is very, very high,” Kohli told NDTV.

Virat Kohli And Anushka Sharma

Virat Kohli is married to the famous Bollywood diva and one of the most popular actresses in the current Hindi Film industry, Anushka Sharma. Virat and Anushka started dating in 2013 and soon earned the celebrity couple nickname "Virushka". The two never publicly talked about it and kept it to themselves until the couple married on 11 December 2017. It was a private ceremony in Florence, Italy with just close family members and friends. Their amazing wedding pictures and cheerful love bond raised the standards of couple goals throughout India.

Virat Kohli has credited his wife, Anushka Sharma for the emotional strength and maturity in his behavior that he has learned from her. Virat and Anushka are some of the most recognizable and followed couples of the country.

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Vamika Kohli – Daughter of Virat and Anushka

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma welcomed their first child, Vamika Kohli on the 11th of January 2021. Kohli revealed that Vamika is another name for Goddess Durga.