Trailblazing through time: A timeline of Virat Kohli’s illustrious international cricket career

Virat Kohli is often hailed as the modern-day cricket icon and has left an indelible mark on the sport with his exceptional talent, unwavering dedication, and unparalleled passion.

From his humble beginnings to becoming one of the most celebrated cricketers in the world, Kohli’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. On that note, let’s take a nostalgic trip down memory lane and explore the remarkable timeline of Kohli’s extraordinary international cricket career.

1) 2008: The India debut

Virat made his One Day International (ODI) debut for India against Sri Lanka on August 18, 2008. The young and determined batter failed to score big in the match and was dismissed for mere 12 runs. However, Kohli bounced back stronger and scored his maiden half-century in the fourth match of the same series.

2) 2009-2010: Rising star

It was in 2009, on December 24, that Kohli slammed his maiden ODI century against Sri Lanka and proved his mettle as a class batter.

A year later, Kohli became just the third Indian player to score two ODI centuries before the age of 22. He was also entrusted with the vice-captain role by the Indian management in the tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe the same year.

He finished as India’s leading run-scorer in ODIs in 2010, amassing 995 runs from 25 matches at an average of 47.38, including three centuries and seven half-centuries, solidifying his place in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup Squad. Kohli’s T20I debut for India also came in the same year on 12 June against Zimbabwe.

3) 2011: World Cup glory

Kohli played a crucial role in India’s triumphant 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup campaign. The right-handed batter hammered a brilliant ton in the first match against Bangladesh, becoming the first Indian batter to score a century on World Cup debut. Kohli’s form continued, and he contributed with vital runs throughout the tournament, including a pivotal 35 in the final against Sri Lanka.

4) 2011: Test debut and vice-captaincy

Kohli made his Test debut against West Indies in 2011 on June 20, marking the beginning of his journey in the longest format of the game. The young cricketer notched up his first Test century against Australia in Adelaide in January 2012. He was even appointed as the vice-captain of the Indian cricket team for the Asia Cup in the same year.

5) 2012-2013: Ascending to greatness

On March 18 2012, Kohli registered his personal best ODI score of 183 runs against Pakistan in the final group stage match of the Asia Cup. He next year was included in India’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 and lifted his second major ICC title as a player.

6) 2014: Taking over the captaincy reins from MS Dhoni in Tests

Kohli became the captain of the Indian team for the first time in December 2014 on the Australia tour due to MS Dhoni not being part of the team owing to injury. The batter was later appointed full-time skipper of the side after Dhoni announced his retirement ahead of the fourth Test.

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7) 2015-16: Captain Kohli

Kohli’s first series win as Test captain and India’s first away Test series win in four years came on the Sri Lanka tour in 2015.

Apart from this, Kohli continued his consistent batting performance in the T20I format as well and won the second consecutive ‘Man of the Tournament’ award at the 2016 World Twenty20.

8) 2017: Dominating across formats

Kohli became the first batter to score double centuries in four consecutive Test series, breaking several records and establishing his dominance as a batsman. He even led India to the final of the ICC Champions Trophy the same year.

9) 2018: Rise as the leader

On August 2 2018, Kohli registered his first Test century on English soil. Three days later, he became the No. 1 ranked Test batter of the world in the ICC Rankings. During an ODI series against West Indies in the same year, Kohli achieved the feat of becoming just the 12th batter to amass 10,000 ODI runs in the 50-over format.

Kohi also won the 2018-19 Border Gavaskar Trophy later, becoming the first Asian and Indian skipper to win a Test series in Australia.

10) 2019: World Cup Campaign

Kohli guided India to the team to the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. However, India were eliminated after suffering a loss against New Zealand in the knockout fixture.

11) 2020-2021: Resignation from captaincy

Although Kohli captained India in the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, he stepped down from the skipper’s post in the limited-overs format soon after the conclusion of the event. Notably, India failed to reach even the semi-final round of the event.

On January 15 2022, Kohli also stepped down as India’s Test captain after the 2-1 test series defeat against South Africa.

12) 2022-Present: Return to form

Despite a dip in form for almost two years, Kohli made a strong comeback in the Asia Cup 2022 and remains a pivotal figure in the Indian team’s batting lineup. He has slammed 76 international centuries in international cricket so far and is just behind legendary Sachin Tendulkar in terms of most hundreds.

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