Virat Kohli

Biography:

Indian international cricket player Virat Kohli [b] was born on November 5, 1988, and he served as the team’s all-format captain. He bats with his right hand and occasionally bowls at a medium tempo with his right arm. He has been praised for his batting abilities and records and is regarded as one of the best batsmen in limited overs cricket. With 85 tons across all formats, Kohli has the most hundreds in ODIs and the second-highest in international cricket. In the Indian Premier League, he is also the top run scorer.

In addition to being a key player of the teams that won the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2013 Champions Trophy, 2024 T20 World Cup, and 2025 Champions Trophy, Kohli captained the 2008 U19 World Cup winning squad. He represents Delhi in domestic cricket and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League. In the 2013 ODI batting rankings, Kohli held the top spot. He accomplished the same in T20I in 2015. He became the only Indian to hold the top ranking in all three forms in 2018 when he was ranked #1 in Test. He is the first player to reach 20,000 runs in ten years. From 2011 to 2020, he was named the Cricketer of the Decade.

Kohli is the most decorated player in international cricket history with ten ICC Awards. He was named ODI Player of the Year four times: in 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2023. He was the 2017 and 2018 Cricketer of the Year winner. He won Cricketer of the Year, ODI Player of the Year, and Test Player of the Year in 2018, making history as the first player to do it. In 2019, he received the Spirit of Cricket Award, and in 2020, he was named Cricketer of the Decade and ODI Cricketer of the Decade. For three years running, Kohli was voted the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World.

In all three formats combined, Kohli has won the most Player of the Series and the second most Player of the Match. In 2013, he received the Arjuna Award; in 2017, he received the Padma Shri; and in 2018, he received the Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting honor. In 2018, Time listed him among the world’s 100 most powerful individuals. With projected revenues of ₹634 crore (US$66 million) in 2022, Kohli has been considered one of the most commercially viable players.

Following his victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup and his final Player of the Match award, Kohli declared his retirement from Twenty20 Internationals. At the age of 36, he declared his retirement from the Test format on May 12, 2025. He has two children with actress Anushka Sharma.