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Virat Kohli ( born 5 November 1988) is an Indian international cricketer who currently captains the India national team. A right-handed batsman, often regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, Kohli was ranked eighth in ESPN's list of world's most famous athletes in 2016. He plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and has been the team's captain since 2013. Born and raised in Delhi, Kohli represented the city's cricket team at various age-group levels before making his first-class debut in 2006. He captained India Under-19s to victory at the 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, and a few months later, made his ODI debut for India against Sri Lanka at the age of 19. Initially having played as a reserve batsman in the Indian team, he soon established himself as a regular in the ODI middle-order and was part of the squad that won the 2011 World Cup. He made his Test debut in 2011, and shrugged off the tag of "ODI specialist" by 2013 with Test hundreds in Australia and South Africa. Having reached the number one spot in the ICC rankings for ODI batsmen for the first time in 2013, Kohli also found success in the Twenty20 format, winning the Man of the Tournament twice at the ICC World Twenty20 (in 2014 and 2016). In 2014, he became the top-ranked T20I batsman in the ICC rankings and holds the position, as of May 2017. Kohli was appointed vice-captain of the ODI team in 2012, and handed over the Test captaincy following Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Test retirement in 2014. In early 2017, he became the limited-overs captain as well after Dhoni stepped down from the position. Kohli holds numerous Indian batting records including the fastest ODI century, the fastest batsman to 5,000 ODI runs and the fastest to 10 ODI centuries. He is only the second batsman in the world to have scored 1,000 or more ODI runs for four consecutive calendar years. Among the T20I world records held by Kohli are fastest batsman to 1,000 runs, most runs in a calendar year and most fifties in the format. He also holds the records of most runs in a single tournament of both the World Twenty20 and the IPL. Kohli has been the recipient of many awards such as the ICC ODI Player of the Year in 2012 and the BCCI's international cricketer of the year for the 2011–12 and 2014–15 seasons. In 2013, he was given the Arjuna Award in recognition of his achievements in international cricket. Alongside his cricket career, Kohli co-owns FC Goa in the ISL, the IPTL franchise UAE Royals and the PWL team Bengaluru Yodhas. He also has other business ventures and over 20 brand endorsements; his brand value in 2016 was estimated to be US$92 million, placing him second on the list of India's most valued celebrity brands.
Virat Kohli was born on 5 November 1988 in Delhi into a Punjabi family. His father, Prem Kohli, worked as a criminal lawyer and his mother, Saroj Kohli, is a housewife. He has an elder brother, Vikash, and an elder sister, Bhavna. According to his family, when he was three-years old, Kohli would pick up a cricket bat, start swinging it and ask his father to bowl at him. Kohli was raised in Uttam Nagar and started his schooling at Vishal Bharti Public School. In 1998, the West Delhi Cricket Academy was created, and Kohli, a nine-year-old, was part of its first intake. Kohli's father took him to the academy after their neighbours suggested that "Virat shouldn't waste his time in gully cricket and instead join a professional club". Kohli trained at the academy under Rajkumar Sharma and also played matches at the Sumeet Dogra Academy at Vasundhara Enclave at the same time. Sharma recounts Kohli's early days at his academy, "He oozed talent. It was so difficult to keep him quiet. He was a natural in whatever he did and I was most impressed with his attitude. He was ready to bat at any spot, and I had to literally push him home after the training sessions. He just wouldn’t leave." In ninth grade, he shifted to Savier Convent in Paschim Vihar to help his cricket practice. Apart from sports, Kohli was good at academics as well, and his teachers remember him as "a bright and alert child". Kohli's family lived in Meera Bagh until 2015 when they moved to Gurgaon. Kohli's father died on 18 December 2006 due to a stroke after being bed-ridden for a month. Regarding his early life, Kohli has said in an interview, "I've seen a lot in life. Losing my father at a young age, the family business not doing too well, staying in a rented place. There were tough times for the family... It's all embedded in my memory." According to Kohli, his father supported his cricket training during his childhood, "My father was my biggest support. He was the one who drove me to practice everyday. I miss his presence sometimes."
Kohli first played for Delhi Under-15 team in October 2002 in the 2002–03 Polly Umrigar Trophy. He was the leading run-getter for his team in that tournament with 172 runs at an average of 34.40. He became the captain of the team for the 2003–04 Polly Umrigar Trophy and scored 390 runs in 5 innings at an average of 78 including two centuries and two fifties. In late 2004, he was selected in the Delhi Under-17 team for the 2003–04 Vijay Merchant Trophy. He scored 470 runs in four matches at an average of 117.50 with two hundreds and top-score of 251*. Delhi Under-17s won the 2004–05 Vijay Merchant Trophy in which Kohli finished as the highest run-scorer with 757 runs from 7 matches at an average of 84.11 with two centuries. In February 2006, he made his List A debut for Delhi against Services but did not get to bat. In July 2006, Kohli was selected in the India Under-19 squad on its tour of England. He averaged 105 in the three-match ODI series against England Under-19s and 49 in the three-match Test series. India Under-19 went on to win both the series. At the conclusion of the tour, the India Under-19 coach Lalchand Rajput was impressed with Kohli and said, "Kohli showed strong technical skills against both pace and spin". In September, the India Under-19 team toured Pakistan. Kohli averaged 58 in the Test series and 41.66 in the ODI series against Pakistan Under-19s.
Kohli made his first-class debut for Delhi against Tamil Nadu in November 2006, at the age of 18, and scored 10 in his debut innings. He came into the spotlight in December when he decided to play for his team against Karnataka on the day after his father's death and went on to score 90. He went directly to the funeral after he was dismissed. Delhi captain Mithun Manhas said, "That is an act of great commitment to the team and his innings turned out to be crucial," while coach Chetan Chauhan lauded Kohli's "attitude and determination." His mother noted that "Virat changed a bit after that day. Overnight he became a much more matured person. He took every match seriously. He hated being on the bench. It's as if his life hinged totally on cricket after that day. Now, he looked like he was chasing his father's dream which was his own too." He scored a total of 257 runs from 6 matches at an average of 36.71 in that season. In April 2007, he made his Twenty20 debut and finished as the highest run-getter for his team in the Inter-State T20 Championship with 179 runs at an average of 35.80. In July–August 2007, the India Under-19 team toured Sri Lanka. In the triangular series against Sri Lanka Under-19s and Bangladesh Under-19s, Kohli was the second highest run-getter with 146 runs from 5 matches. In the two-match Test series that followed, he scored 244 runs at an average of 122 including a hundred and a fifty.
In February–March 2008, Kohli captained the victorious Indian team at the 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia. Batting at number 4, he scored 235 runs in 6 matches at an average of 47, and finished as the tournament's third highest run-getter and one of the three batsmen to score a hundred in the tournament. His century (100 runs from 74 balls) against the West Indies Under-19s in the group stage, which was called "the innings of the tournament" by ESPNcricinfo, gave India a 50-run victory and earned Kohli the man of the match. Kohli picked up a leg injury during the match, but recovered in time to play the quarterfinal match against England Under-19s. He was instrumental in India's three-wicket semifinal win over New Zealand Under-19s in which he took 2/27 and scored 43 in the tense run-chase and was awarded the man of the match. He scored 19 against South Africa Under-19s in the final which India won by 12 runs (D/L method). ESPNcricinfo commended him for making several tactical bowling changes during the tournament. Following the Under-19 World Cup, Kohli was bought by the Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore for $30,000 on a youth contract. In June 2008, Kohli and his Under-19 teammates Pradeep Sangwan and Tanmay Srivastava were awarded the Border-Gavaskar scholarship. The scholarship allowed the three players to train for six weeks at Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. In July 2008, he was included in India's 30-man probable squad for the ICC Champions Trophy which was to be held in Pakistan in September 2008. He was also picked in the India Emerging Players squad for the four-team Emerging Players Tournament in Australia. He was in fine form in that tournament and scored 206 runs in six matches at an average of 41.20.
In August 2008, Kohli was included in the Indian ODI squad for tour of Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. Prior to the Sri Lankan tour, Kohli had played only eight List A matches, and his selection was called a "surprise call-up". During the Sri Lankan tour, as both first-choice openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were injured, Kohli batted as a makeshift opener throughout the series. He made his international debut, at the age of 19, in the first ODI of the tour and was dismissed for 12. He made his first ODI half century, a score of 54, in the fourth match which helped India win the series. He had scores of 37, 25 and 31 in the other three matches. India won the series 3–2 which was India's first ODI series win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. After the Champions Trophy was postponed to 2009, Kohli was picked as a replacement for the injured Shikhar Dhawan in the India A squad for the unofficial Tests against Australia A in September 2008. He batted only once in the two-match series, and scored 49 in that innings. Later that month in September 2008, he played for Delhi in the Nissar Trophy against SNGPL (winners of Quaid-i-Azam Trophy from Pakistan) and top-scored for Delhi in both innings, with 52 and 197. The match was drawn but SNGPL won the trophy on first-innings lead. In October 2008, Kohli played for Indian Board President's XI in a four-day tour match against Australia. He made 105 and 16* in that match against a bowling line-up consisting of Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Jason Krejza. Kohli was included in the squad for the home ODI series against England in November 2008 but was not given a chance to play, due to the inclusion of Tendulkar and Sehwag in the team. In December 2008, Kohli was given a Grade D contract in the annual BCCI contracts list which entitled him to receive Rs 15 lakh. He was then dropped from the squad for the five-match ODI series in Sri Lanka against Sri Lanka in January 2009. Kohli was selected in the four-team Emerging Players Tournament in July–August 2009 held in Australia. He opened the innings for India Emerging Players in that tournament and finished as the leading run-getter with 398 runs from seven matches at an average of 66.33. He scored 104 off 102 balls in the final against South Africa Emerging Players at Brisbane to help his team win the match by 17 runs and clinch the title. At the conclusion of the tournament, Kris Srikkanth, the chairman of the national selection committee, was impressed with Kohli and remarked "I must say, opener Virat Kohli was outstanding.
Some of the shots he played spoke about his ability." Kohli has called this tournament as the "turning point" of his career. Kohli returned to the national team replacing the injured Gambhir in Indian squad for the tri-series in Sri Lanka. He batted at number 4 for India in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy because of an injury to Yuvraj Singh. In the inconsequential group match against the West Indies, Kohli scored an unbeaten 79 in India's successful chase of 130 and won his first man of the match award. Kohli played as a reserve batsman in the seven-match home ODI series against Australia, appearing in two matches as injury replacement. He found a place in the home ODI series against Sri Lanka in December 2009 and scored 27 and 54 in the first two ODIs before making way for Yuvraj who regained fitness for the third ODI. However, Yuvraj's finger injury recurred leading to him being ruled out indefinitely. Kohli returned to the team in the fourth ODI at Kolkata and scored his first ODI century–107 off 111 balls–sharing a 224-run partnership for the third wicket with Gambhir who made his personal best score of 150. India won by seven wickets to seal the series 3–1. The man of the match was awarded to Gambhir who gave the award to Kohli. Tendulkar was rested for the tri-nation ODI tournament in Bangladesh in January 2010 which enabled Kohli to play in each of India's five matches. Against Bangladesh, he scored 91 to help secure a win after India collapsed to 51/3 early in their run-chase of 297. In the next match against Sri Lanka, Kohli ended unbeaten on 71 to help India win the match with a bonus point having chased down their target of 214 within 33 overs. The next day, he scored his second ODI century, against Bangladesh, bringing up the mark with the winning runs. He became only the third Indian batsman to score two ODI centuries before their 22nd birthday, after Tendulkar and Suresh Raina. Kohli was much praised for his performances during the series in particular by the Indian captain Dhoni. Although Kohli made only two runs in the final against Sri Lanka in a four-wicket Indian defeat, he finished as the leading run-getter of the series with 275 runs from five innings at an average of 91.66. In the three-match ODI series at home against South Africa in February, Kohli batted in two games and had scores of 31 and 57.
Raina was named captain and Kohli vice-captain for the tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in May–June 2010, as many first-choice players skipped the tour. Kohli made 168 runs at 42.00 including two fifties, but India suffered three defeats in four matches and crashed out of the series. During the series, Kohli became the fastest Indian batsman to reach 1,000 runs in ODI cricket. He made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe at Harare and scored an unbeaten 26. Later that month, Kohli batted at 3 in a full-strength Indian team throughout the 2010 Asia Cup and scored a total of 67 runs at an average of 16.75. His struggles with form continued in the tri-series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Sri Lanka where he averaged 15.Despite the poor run of form, Kohli was retained in the ODI squad for a three-match series against Australia in October, and in the only completed match of the series at Visakhapatnam, scored his third ODI century–118 off 121 balls–which helped India reach the target of 290 after losing the openers early. Winning the man of the match, he admitted that he was under pressure to keep his place in the team after failures in the two previous series. Part of a largely inexperienced team for the home ODI series against New Zealand, Kohli scored a match-winning 104-ball 105, his fourth ODI hundred and second in succession, in the first game, and followed it up with 64 and 63* in the next two matches. India completed a 5–0 whitewash of New Zealand, while Kohli's performance in the series helped him become a regular in the ODI team and made him a strong contender for a spot in India's World Cup squad. He was India's leading run-scorer in ODIs in 2010, with 995 runs from 25 matches at an average of 47.38 including three centuries. Kohli was India's leading run-getter in the five-match ODI series of the South African tour in January 2011, with 193 runs at an average of 48.25 including two fifties, both in Indian defeats. During the series, he jumped to number two spot on the ICC Rankings for ODI batsmen, and was named in India's 15-man squad for the World Cup. The inclusion of both Kohli and Raina in the World Cup squad resulted in speculations about which of the two batsmen will make it to the playing eleven. Days before India's first match of the tournament, Indian captain Dhoni indicated that the in-form Kohli is likely to be preferred over Raina. Kohli played in every match of India's successful World Cup campaign. He scored an unbeaten 100, his fifth ODI century, in the first match against Bangladesh and became the first Indian batsman to score a century on World Cup debut. In the next four group matches he had low scores of 8, 34, 12 and 1 against England, Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa respectively. Having returned to form with 59 against West Indies, he scored only 24 and 9 in the quarterfinal against Australia and semifinal against Pakistan respectively.
In the final against Sri Lanka at Mumbai, he scored 35, sharing an 83-run partnership with Gambhir for the third wicket after India had lost both openers within the seventh over chasing 275. This partnership is regarded as "one of the turning points in the match", as India went on to win the match by six wickets and lift the World Cup for the first time since 1983.When India toured the West Indies in June–July 2011, they chose a largely inexperienced squad, resting Tendulkar and others such as Gambhir and Sehwag missing out due to injuries. Kohli was one of three uncapped players in the Test squad. Kohli found success in the ODI series which India won 3–2, with a total of 199 runs at an average of 39.80. His best efforts came in the second ODI at Port of Spain where he won the man of the match for his score of 81 which gave India a seven-wicket victory, and the fifth ODI at Kingston where his innings of 94 came in a seven-wicket defeat. Kohli made his Test debut at Kingston in the first match of the Test series that followed. He batted at five and was dismissed for 4 and 15 caught behind by Fidel Edwards in both innings. India went on to win the Test series 1–0 but Kohli amassed just 76 runs from five innings, struggling against the short ball and was particularly troubled by the fast bowling of Edwards, who dismissed him three times in the series. Initially dropped from the Test squad for India's four-match series in England in July and August, Kohli was recalled as replacement for the injured Yuvraj, though did not play in any match in the series. He found moderate success in the subsequent ODI series in which he averaged 38.80. His score of 55 in the first ODI at Chester-le-Street was followed by a string of low scores in the next three matches. In the last game of the series, Kohli scored his sixth ODI hundred–107 runs off 93 balls–and shared a 170-run third-wicket partnership with Rahul Dravid, who was playing his last ODI, to help India post their first 300-plus total of the tour. Kohli was dismissed hit wicket in that innings which was the only century in the series by any player on either team and earned him praise for his "hard work" and "maturity". However, England won the match by D/L method and the series 3–0. In October 2011, Kohli was the leading run-scorer of the five-match home ODI series against England which India won 5–0. He scored a total of 270 runs across five matches including unbeaten knocks of 112 from 98 balls at Delhi, where he put on an unbroken 209-run partnership with Gambhir, and 86 at Mumbai, both in successful run-chases. Owing to his ODI success, Kohli was included, ahead of Raina, in the Test squad to face the West Indies in November. In competition with Yuvraj Singh for the number six position, it was not until the final match of the series that Kohli was selected in the team. He scored a pair of fifties in the match, with his first innings score of 52 ensuring India avoided follow-on. India won the subsequent ODI series 4–1 in which Kohli managed to accumulate 243 runs at 60.75. During the series, Kohli scored his eighth ODI century and his second at Visakhapatnam, where he made 117 off 123 balls in India's run-chase of 271, a knock which raised his reputation as "an expert of the chase". Kohli ended up as the leading run-getter in ODIs for the year 2011, with 1381 runs from 34 matches at 47.62 and four centuries.
In March 2008, Kohli was bought on a youth contract by the Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore for $30,000. He had an indifferent 2008 season, with a total of 165 runs in 12 innings at an average of 15.00 and a strike rate of 105.09. He fared slightly better in the second season in which he made a total of 246 runs at 22.36, striking at over 112, while his team made it as far as the final. In the 2010 season, Kohli was the third highest run-getter for his team with 307 runs, averaging 27.90 and improving his strike rate to 144.81. Ahead of the 2011 season, Kohli was the only player retained by the Royal Challengers franchise. Kohli was made vice-captain of the team that year and also captained the team in a few matches when the regular skipper Daniel Vettori was injured. The Royal Challengers coach Ray Jennings opined that the 22-year-old would become the future captain of not only the franchise but also the Indian team. Kohli was the second-highest run-getter of the season, only behind teammate Chris Gayle, and his team finished as runners-up of the IPL. Kohli accumulated a total of 557 runs at an average of 46.41 and a strike rate of over 121 including four fifties. In the 2012 IPL, he was moderately successful, averaging 28 for his 364 runs. After Vettori's retirement, Kohli was appointed as the team's captain for the 2013 season. The Royal Challengers finished fifth on the league table that year, but Kohli found success with the bat. Averaging 45.28, he hit a total of 634 runs at a strike rate of over 138 including six fifties and a top-score of 99 and finished as the season's third-highest run-scorer. Bangalore finished seventh in the next season in which Kohli made 359 runs at 27.61. He found success with the bat in the 2015 IPL in which he led his team to the playoffs. He finished fifth on the season's leading run-getters list with 505 runs at an average of 45.90 and a strike rate of more than 130. At the 2016 IPL, the Royal Challengers finished runners-up and Kohli broke the record for most runs in an IPL season (of 733 runs) by scoring 973 runs in 16 matches at an average of 81.08, winning the Orange Cap. He scored four centuries in the tournament, having never scored one in the Twenty20 format before the start of the season, and also became the first player to reach the 4000-run milestone in the IPL. At the launch event of his biography, 'Driven: The Virat Kohli Story' in New Delhi, in October 2016, Kohli announced that RCB would be the IPL franchise that he would permanently play for.