The King of Cricket in 2024: Know Everything about It

Who is the King of Cricket? The king of cricket in India is the former cricket captain and country’s favorite celebrity, Virat Kohli. He has over 24,000 runs across all three formats in cricket (Test, ODI, and T20). Moreover, he has also earned the distinction of being called “King Kohli”. Let us understand why Virat Kohli is called the King of Cricket and his journey to becoming King Kohli!

Who Is The King Of Cricket?

For some people, the king of cricket could be Sachin Tendulkar, while for others, it could be Brian Lara. Some of you might regard Sir Donald Bradman, Sunil Gavaskar, Courtney Walsh, or Shane Warne as the King of cricket. The floor is always open for debate as there is no official title for King of Cricket. So, feel free to comment and give your views on who is the king of cricket.

Why Is Kohli Regarded As The King Of Cricket?

Since Virat Kohli established himself as the best batsman in modern cricket, he is known as “King Kohli.” He is the fastest cricketer to tally 12000 runs in ODI cricket, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s tally. He ranks 2^nd in the ODI batting, the most recent ranking surpassing Brian Lara, Sunil Gavaskar, Courtney Walsh, and Shane Warne.

Virat Kohli has broken the record for the most 150+ scores in tests as a captain. He surpasses the record of Don Bradman, the greatest batsman, with a 99.94 batting average in test cricket. The total test runs as of June 20, 2022, for Virat Kohli stands at 8043, whereas for Don Bradman, it is 6996.

The numbers only get better in the T20 format for Kohli. He has the most “Man of the Series” awards in T20 cricket. He has the highest career batting average at 51.5. Here are the career batting average stats for the top cricket players:

Cricket Players	T20*	ODI*	Test*
Virat Kohli	51.5	58.1	50
Mohammad Rizwan	50.4	28	42.8
Sachin Tendulkar	10	44.8	53.8
Don Bradman	NA	NA	99.9
Brian Lara	NA	40.5	52.9
Courtney Walsh	NA	7	7.5
Shane Warne	NA	13	17.3

Apart from numbers, Virat Kohli surpasses top crickets in terms of fame and popularity. He is the first international cricketer to cross 100 million followers on the social media platform. In fact, he is the only cricketer in the top 5 who occupied the third spot. He is one of the three Indian cricketers selected for the nation’s A+ contract, which guarantees an annual salary of $1 million in 2020.

Now that we have established that Virat Kohli is undoubtedly the modern-day King of cricket, let’s look at how he rose to fame. 

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King Of Cricket – Journey

Born to Prem and Saroj Kohli in Delhi on November 5, 1988, this icon started showing his interest in the game at age three. The prodigy was the youngest of three siblings, including a brother and a sister. In 1998, Virat and his brother Vikas joined the West Delhi Cricket Academy and were coached by Rajkumar Sharma. Despite being the youngest, his enthusiasm and passion for cricket made him stand out amongst 250 other kids.

Early Career Graph

Virat Kholi played a tournament at the Delhi Development’s Authority Sports Complex ground in Harinagar under his coach, Rajkumar Sharma, and became the tournament’s highest run-getter. He was awarded the ‘Player of the Tournament by Ashish Nehra, who returned after his remarkable performance in the 2003 World Cup. Virat was merely 13 years old then. His career was just propelled from that point, and there was no looking back.

• He first played professional cricket when he represented the Delhi under-15 teams in the Polly Umrigar Trophy in October 2002. In the following season, he was assigned the captaincy.
• In 2003-04, he played under-17 Vijay Merchant Trophy for Delhi, finishing as the top run-scorer.
• He debuted in List A in February 2006 for Delhi and played against the Services Cricket Team but did not get to bat for the match. Later, he played in Delhi’s Ranji Team in November 2006 against Tamil Nadu but could only score 10 runs in the innings. 
• In the same year, the under-19 Indian team named him in the squad for the tour of England, and he averaged 105 runs in the three ODIs and 49 runs in the test series.

Rise Of The Legend

In 2006, while he was in a rampant form, he lost his father due to a heart stroke. He had to play against Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy on the same day. He played the match, contributed 90 valuable runs, and left the stadium as soon as he got out to attend the funeral. As overwhelming and empathetic as this incident sounds, many consider it one of the foundation stones of Virat’s glamourous career.

• The burden of national captaincy never limited Virat’s efficiency. It only drew the best out of him, as he demonstrated when he led the under-19 team for the 2008 World Cup in Malaysia. He finished as the third-highest run-getter of the tournament, and under his captaincy, India won the World Cup in 2008. He scored crucial 43 runs, took 2 wickets in the final game against New Zealand, and was eventually awarded the ‘Man of the Match.’
• Following his performance in the under-19 World Cup, Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him for $30,000 in the newly inaugurated Indian Premier League. 2008 may not be his best IPL season, but gradually he enlisted himself in the big boys club by becoming the third-highest run-getter for the team in 2010 and the second-highest run-getter in the 2011 edition.
• The King of cricket was introduced as one of the finest finishers with his brief but essential innings in the 2011 World Cup Finals against Sri Lanka and then playing a flamboyant knock against arch-rivals Pakistan in Asia Cup, 2012. He achieved the highest individual score for India by chasing 330, making it India’s highest run chase.
• In the Commonwealth Bank 2011-12 series, a must-win match was to be played between India and Sri Lanka, where Sri Lanka batted first, scoring a humongous score of 323, but Kohli had other plans that day. To take India to the target, he scored 133, not out, off 86 deliveries. India won the match with 13 overs to spare. It is noteworthy that Dean Jones, the former Australian cricketer, and commentator, called the innings ‘One of the greatest knocks of ODI cricket.

A Rocky Road In The King’s Career

The most significant dip in the King’s Kholi career was the 2014 tour to England, where he was exposed to the off-swinging delivery outside the off-stump. With an average of 13.4 runs in 10 innings, the analysts and veterans started to question the technique and the skills of King Kohli. Furthermore, India lost the series by 3-1, with Kohli scoring 134. He still considers it the worst phase of his cricketing career but iterates that he has learned much throughout the period.

However, the King of cricket proved himself once again in the land of Kangaroos. Australia is considered the most brutal battleground for a touring team because of the killer instinct of Australians. Amidst all the controversies and fights, and brawls on the ground, Kohli took his revenge when he played them in 2014-15. This was the first time he was assigned captaincy because of the injury of the then-test Captain, MS Dhoni. Kohli scored 692 runs, the highest by any Indian batsman in test cricket in Australia. In the same series, ahead of the fourth test in Sydney, Mahendra Singh Dhoni retired from the test series, and Kohli was selected as the full-time test Captain.

In 2016, Kohli broke the record of the highest number of runs in a season by scoring 973 runs in 16 matches with 4 centuries. That is when his career reached its peak.

King Of Cricket – Recent Stats 

• Often called one of the most handsome eligible bachelors in India, Virat Kohli married Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma on December 11, 2017, in Florence, Italy. The couple became parents to a daughter on January 11, 2021.
• In an Instagram post in September 2021, Virat Kohli announced that he would step down as the Captain of the Indian T20 team posts the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. 
• In December of the same year, Kohli also stepped down from the ODI captaincy, and Rohit Sharma was selected as the new Captain of the Indian Team.
• Kohli decided to step down from the captaincy after the 2-1 loss to South Africa in the test series in January 2022.

King Kohli Career Stats And Awards

Take a look at the king of cricket, Virat Kohli’s Career averages below:

Batting & Fielding	Test	ODI	T20	T20I
Matches	101	260	342	97
Total Runs	8043	12311	10614	3296
Average	49.95	58.07	40.05	51.50
100s	27	43	5	0
50s	28	64	78	30

Bowling	Test	ODI	T20	T20I
Matches	101	260	342	97
Total Runs	84	665	661	198
Average	–	166.25	82.62	49.50

Glaring Achievements And Awards

In 2013, Kohli received the prestigious Arjuna Award. He was awarded Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award, in 2017. In 2018, he was given India’s highest sporting honor, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Other awards include:

• Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy
• Polly Umrigar Award
• ICC ODI player of the year
• Men’s ODI cricketer of the decade (ICC)
• ICC Test player of the year
• ICC Spirit of Cricket
• Wisden is the Leading Cricketer in the world and others

India is famous for producing several world-class cricketers and batsmen. Regarding captaincy, people end up drawing a comparison between Virat Kholi and MS Dhoni. However, Virat’s enticing personality, on-field aggression, and passion for the game make him stand out from the rest. That’s probably why Virat Kholi is referred to as the ‘King’ by everyone- from legends to young aspirants alike.

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Trump Cards Mania by Zupee is a 2-player game, where players select the cricket stat to challenge each other. The higher stat wins the round and the player who earns the maximum points wins the trump card game. Besides, you can also stand a CHANCE TO WIN up to 10 lakhs! Click on the “Download App” button on this page and start playing.

Who Is The King Of Cricket – FAQs