It’s 5th of November a day which is now celebrated across the world as it marks the birthday of Virat Kohli. The Indian captain turns 32 as his countless devotees celebrate his birthday all around the world. Professional as a cricketer today Kohli stands head and shoulders above all his rivals.
From budding cricketers to present cricketers to ex-players all are in awe of the great man. Birthdays are always special more so for an athlete like Kohli as it allows us to reflect on his glorious career.
Statistics play a huge role in cricket and a player is often judged based on his numbers. In his past decade as a batsman and captain Kohli has topped almost all lists as he took his game to another level. His unreal numbers are often discussed and his name is now taken in the same breath as the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Viv Richards.
At 32, he is now part of an elite list as the world remains to marvel at the unreal skills he displays on the field. Off the field, as a brand to Kohli is a powerhouse and it continuously rises with each passing day. When you are a cricketer of the level of Kohli you are virtually spotted everywhere in India. Be it hoardings, televisions, mobile phones, and even outside a hair saloon which speaks volume of the kind of impact he as had as a cricketer.
Happy Birthday Virat Kohli
But what makes him so special? Why is the name of Kohli discussed all the time in the cricketing fraternity? Be it Pakistan, England or Australia even when he is not on the field he is still addressed as he continues to be a phenomenon.
When he burst on the scene a lot of people had misconceptions about him as a person. Seeing his tattoos and attitude he was tagged as arrogant and it took him time to carve a niche for himself.
As he has grown older he has not only matured as a cricketer but more importantly as a person as well. Kohli now understands that he’s carrying the burden of 1.2 billion people and to maintain his freakish level as a player he has no other option but to be better with each passing day.
Since his debut, he has completely changed the landscape of Indian cricket. His tremendous self-belief has rubbed onto every other teammate as Indian cricket team today is intimidating in any part of the world when they play.
It is a well-known fact that Kohli’s work ethic is second to none. Very early on in his career, he realised there’s no shortcut towards success and constantly focused on becoming the best version of himself that could serve Indian cricket for a long time.
As a result, Kohli has now created a fitness culture in the side which now allows the players to compete at their utmost level for a long time. Indian bowlers are now running in all day in a Test match and all the credit of that goes to the fitness culture that the captain has created.
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3 Knocks In All Formats That Defines Virat Kohli
Test cricket- The iconic 141 at Adelaide will always he special as it was his first game as captain and he scored in on a very difficult pitch in the 4th innings. After that, we knew that as captain he will always go for the win no matter what the situation. Since then he has not looked back and kept on inspiring his side to win matches from impossible situations.
ODIs- He has played so many in ODI cricket that you can’t just pick one. But at the same time, you just can’t look beyond that freakish 133 at Hobart. When India needed over 300 runs to win in less than 40 overs to remain in tri-series, entered a fearless 23-year-old Virat Kohli.
Goosebumps are guaranteed if anyone still watches the highlights of that mighty knock. That unreal batting effort gave him the appellation of the ‘Chase Master’ which till now stays with him as he for fun keeps on scoring hundreds and winning matches for Indian in a run chase.
T20s- Without a doubt the 82* against Aus at Mohali in 2016 T20 world cup. Do or die match, against a quality attack on a tricky pitch he single-handedly took India to the semi-finals of the world cup. That lion-hearted effort from Kohli once again proved that he is a big match player and always saves his best for the big moments. With wickets falling all around Kohli looked as he was batting on a completely different pitch as he tormented the Aussies once again.
Never give up attitude, extraordinary self-belief, hunger to be the best at what he does, never satisfied these are the qualities that make Kohli a gift to Indian cricket.
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Virat Kohli’s Record In All Formats As A Batsman
Tests: 86 Matches, 7240 Runs, Average 53.6, 27 100s
ODIs: 248 Matches, 11,867 Runs, Average 59.3, 43 100s
T20Is: 82 Matches, 2794 Runs (Most), Average 50.8, 24 50s
Virat Kohli Achievements
1. U-19 world cup winning captain of India
2. 2011 world cup winner
3. 2013 champions trophy winner
4. Quickest to 10,000 ODI Runs
5. Most Double Hundreds For India In Test Matches
6. Only batsman to average 50 plus in all 3 formats
7. Only Indian/ Asian Capitan to win a Test series in Australia
8. India most successful Test captain ever
9. The only batsman to score more than 20 K runs in a decade
10. ICC ODI player of the year- 2012, 2017, 2018
11. ICC Test player of the year- 2018
12. ICC Cricketer of the year- 2018
National Awards
2013 Arjuna Award winner
2017- Padma Shri
2018- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
Finally, at 32 Kohli was at the peak of his powers and continue to set the bar high for all the cricketers around the world. People need to enjoy him while he plays cricket and not play the comparison game. A cricketer can only entertain his fans for a limited period and everyone has to retire one day.
Virat Kohli is a once in a generation player which is in a league of his own. An Indian cricket fan hopes that he will continue to scale amazing heights and make the country proud. Happy Birthday, Virat Kohli you are truly one of a kind.
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