India’s Cricketing King: Virat Kohli
The most ambitious cricketer to ever rise through the ranks of Indian cricket is without a doubt Virat Kohli.
Making his ODI debut in 2008, Virat Kohli had a slow start to his career. The first 4 years he was given this image of flamboyance and arrogance by the media. He wasn’t in the greatest of shape and his performances reflected.
Kohli admitted that it took the threat of going “under the needle” for surgery in order for him to start taking his health more seriously. It was around 2012. He completely changed his approach to the game.
Despite this, Kohli was still amongst the most talented crop in the cricketing world. After all, he was selected as a starter for the 2011 World Cup winning India team, which included superstars like Sachin Tendulkar, Ms Dhoni and others.
Still, Kohli decided to alter his mentality towards cricket and since then he has never looked back.
My favorite Kohli innings to this day cam one 2012 against Sri Lanka in Hobart where India had to chase down the large total of 321. India was slightly in trouble when Kohli came onto the crease but there was no reason to worry as this was when Kohli took over the reigns to Indian cricket
What proceeded to happen was hitting of the highest class. Kohli was smacking around Malinga(the best ODI bowler in the world at the time) in any way he chose to. Kohli finished with 133* of 86 not out and India chased this target in only 36 overs.
This was Kohli’s announcement to the world. He let everyone in the world know that there is not a better high pressure batsman than him. He became the master of the chase and in the last decade has proven it time after time.
After this innings, Kohli started a new era for himself where he became the best batsman across all formats for nearly a decade.
76 international centuries and 25,000+ international runs as of today. There is no doubt in my mind about who the greatest ODI batsmen of all time is.
Furthermore, Virat Kohli has cemented cricket as the second biggest sport in the world after football. His reach spans all the continents of the globe. This is evident through his massive social media following of more than 250 million instagram followers(making him the 3rd most famous athlete in the world after only Messi and Ronaldo).
Virat Kohli is a certified global phenomenon. He is the most tenacious cricketer India has ever seen and is continuing to fortify his throne as cricket’s king.
