BCCI on Wednesday took to Twitter and Instagram to wish India captain Virat Kohli on the 13th anniversary of his international debut. Exactly 13 years ago on August 18, 2008, Kohli made his India debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Dambulla.
Describing Kohli as one of the finest cricketers going around, BCCI wrote: "#OnThisDay in 2008, @imVkohli made his debut in international cricket.13 years later, with 438 international matches & 22937 runs under his belt, the #TeamIndia captain remains one of the finest cricketers going around."
The right-hander from Delhi was given his India cap after he successfully led India to the U19 World Cup earlier in 2008. Kohli, who opened in all five matches in that Sri Lanka series, did not set the stage on fire but he contributed in almost every match and also scored his maiden fifty in the fourth ODI in Colombo.
Kohli, however, was dropped for the next few series. He made a comeback in the tri-series in Sri Lanka next year involving New Zealand. Kohli made his first big contribution for India in the Champions Trophy match against West Indies later in 2009. His unbeaten 79 gave India an easy win.
However, the innings that really gave flight to Kohli’s career, was his 107 against Sri Lanka in Kolkata while chasing a stiff target. The right-hander did not look back and continued to dish out noteworthy performances in white-ball cricket consistently.
Kohli made his Test debut in the 2011 tour of West Indies and came to his own when he slammed a fighting ton against Australia in Adelaide in 2012.
Kohli was given charge to lead India after MS Dhoni retired from Test cricket in the middle of the Australia tour in 2014-15. He then took over as the India captain in all three formats after Dhoni stood down in 2017.
Kohli is currently regarded as one of the best batsmen across formats. The India captain has close to 23 thousand international runs. In 94 Test, he has 7609 runs at an average of 51.41. He has 27 Test tons to his name in red-ball cricket.
In white-ball cricket, he has a far superior record. In 254 ODIs, he has 12169 runs at an average of 59.07 and a strike rate of 93.17. His 43 hundreds are the most by any current player in ODI cricket. He is only 8 behind the great Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record of 51 tons in ODIs.
Kohli has 3159 runs in 90 T20Is at an average of 52.65.
The most successful Indian Test captain, however, has not been at his best in 2021. He is still searching for a big score in the current England series to put an end to a close to two-year-old drought of a century in international cricket.
Kohli will have his chance when India take on England in the third Test at Headingley on August 25.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...y-of-international-debut-101629266727994.html
