Virat Kohli (born on 5th November 1988) is an Indian International cricketer. He is the current captain of the India National Team. He is considered to be one of the best batsmen in the world. He rose to fame after leading India to glory in the Under-19 World Cup at Kuala Lumpur in early 2008. Kohli is regarded as the king of the run-chase, and a great cricketer full of ODI records in the modern age.
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Virat Kohli Biography
| Name | Virat Kohli |
| Nickname | Chikoo |
| Profession | Cricketer |
| Debut | ODI-18th August 2008 (against Sri Lanka at Dam Ulla) Test-20 June 2011 (against West Indies at Kingston) T20-12 June 2010 (against Zimbabwe at Harare) |
| Height | 5’9” or 1.75m or 175 cm |
| Weight | 70 kg or 174 lbs |
| Body Measurements | Chest – 42 inchesBiceps – 15 inches Waist – 31 inches |
| Tattoo | Yes |
| Date of Birth | 5th November, 1988 (32 years old in 2020) |
| Zodiac | Scorpio |
| Birthplace | Delhi, India |
| Hometown | Delhi, India |
| Residence | Delhi, India |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Nationality | Indian |
| School | Vishal Bharti Public School, DelhiSaviour Convent School, Paschim Vihar, Delhi |
| College/University | Not known |
| Educational Qualifications | 12th standard |
| Father | Prem Kohli |
| Mother | Saroj Kohli |
| Sister | Bhavna |
| Brother | Vikas Kohli |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Hair color | Black |
| Marital status | Married |
| Net Worth | 400 crores(approx.) |
| Hobbies | Travelling, singing |
Early life and Background
Virat Kohli was born in Delhi, India. He belongs to a Punjabi-Hindu family. His father’s name is Prem Kohli who worked as a criminal lawyer and his mother is Saroj Kohli and she is a housewife. He has an older brother named Vikas Kohli and an older sister named Bhavna. Kohli started showing interest in cricket when he was just 3 years old. He did his schooling from Vishal Bharti Public School. He joined West Delhi Cricket academy in 1998 and became a part of its first intake. Kohli shifted to Saviour Convent in Paschim Vihar to polish his cricket skills when he was in ninth grade. Kohli’s father, his biggest support, died on 18 December 2006 due to a stroke after being bed-ridden for a month. He has faced a lot of difficulties in life but refuses to give up and keeps getting better.
Personal life
Virat Kohli is currently married to the Bollywood actress, Anushka Sharma. After dating for over four years, the couple tied the knot in 2017 at Borgo Finocchieto in Tuscany, Italy. This couple is popularly known as Virushka. In August 2020, Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma announced on social media that they were going to be parents soon. Their tweet related to the pregnancy announcement created a storm on Twitter and became the most liked tweet of 2020. The baby is due for delivery in January 2021.
Personal favorites
| Actor | Johnny Depp |
| Actress | Penelope Cruz |
| Singer | Eminem |
| Commentator | Harsha Bhogle |
| Film | Southpaw |
| TV show | Narcos |
Career
Virat Kohli played for Delhi Under-15 team and became the leading run-scorer in the 2002–03 Polly Umrigar Trophy tournament. He was made the captain of the team the next year. He was selected in the Delhi Under-17 team for the 2003–04 Vijay Merchant Trophy and gave a wonderful performance. He helped Delhi lift the 2004–05 Vijay Merchant Trophy. With his hard work, he earned a place in the India Under-19 squad on its tour of England in 2006. He performed incredibly in the three-match ODI series which the India Under-19 squad won. He also performed remarkably against Pakistan’s U-19 cricket team later that year. Kohli started taking cricket more seriously after the death of his father in the year 2006. He led the Indian team to victory at the 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia in 2008. He was bought by the Indian Premier League franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore, on a youth contract. He got selected for the Indian ODI squad for the tour of Sri Lanka in the year 2008.
India won the series 3–2 which was India’s first ODI series win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. Kohli received his first man of the match award in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy. Later the same year he played in the home ODI series against Sri Lanka, scoring his first ODI century. His consistent performance earned him a place in the 2011 World Cup squad. Kohli became the first Indian batsman to score a century on World Cup debut. India reached the finals, and Kohli scored important 35 runs in the finals against Sri Lanka. India went on to win the match by six wickets and lift the World Cup for the first time since 1983.
Kohli made his mark in the Test cricket during India’s tour of Australia in December 2011. India lost the Test series but Virat Kohli was India’s top run-scorer in the series. He scored his maiden Test century in the first innings of matches at Adelaide. Kohli got appointed as the vice-captain for the 2012 Asia Cup in Bangladesh. In the final group stage match against Pakistan, he broke West Indies’ Brian Lara’s long-standing record of 156 runs.
His string of successful stints continued throughout 2013. He played extremely well in the seven-match ODI series against Australia, striking the fastest century by an Indian in ODIs in the second match at Jaipur. Even though better known for his blazing performances in ODIs, Kohli is also a skilled test player.
He was named the captain of the Indian test squad in the year 2014. In the Australian tour the same year, he amassed a total of 692 runs in four Tests—the most by any Indian batsman in a Test series in Australia. His performance dropped in 2015 when he was unable to make any big scores. However, he soon regained his form and became the fastest batsman in the world to make 1,000 runs in T20I cricket during South Africa’s tour of India later the same year. Kohli great batting performances helped India reach the semifinals of 2016 T20 World Cup, held in India.
National honors
- Arjuna Award in 2013
- Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award in 2017
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2018
Sporting honors
- Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Cricketer of the Year) in 2017 and 2018
- ICC ODI Player of the Year in 2012, 2017, 2018
- ICC Test Player of the Year in 2018
- ICC ODI Team of the Year in 2012, 2014, 2016 (captain), 2017 (captain), 2018 (captain), 2019 (captain)
- ICC Test Team of the Year in 2017 (captain), 2018 (captain), 2019 (captain)
- ICC Spirit of Cricket in 2019
- Polly Umrigar Award for International Cricketer of the Year in 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
- Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2016, 2017 and 2018
- CEAT International Cricketer of the Year in 2011–12, 2013–14, 2018-19
- Barmy Army – International Player of Year in 2017, 2018
Other honors and awards
- People’s Choice Awards India For Favourite Sportsperson in 2012
- CNN-News18 Indian of the Year in 2017
Lesser known Facts
- Virat Kohli started a charity foundation called ‘Virat Kohli Foundation’ in 2013 to help underprivileged children.
- He launched his own fashion label called WROGN in November 2014.
- Kohli co-owns the fitness chain called Chisel, jointly with Chisel India and CSE.
- He launched Stepathlon Kids, which is a fitness venture for children in 2016.
- Football is his second favourite sport.
- Kohli became the brand ambassador and a stakeholder in the London-based social networking venture ‘Sport Convo’ in 2014.
