Virat Kohli: biography, stats & profile

Virat Kohli is an India batsman who bats right-handed and bowls right-arm medium. He was born on 5 November 1988 in Delhi, and he played for Delhi in domestic cricket and for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL.

He captained India to the 2008 Under-19 World Cup title and later led the national side in Tests. He is also the only player to have appeared in every IPL season for a single team.

Early life and domestic career

Kohli was born into a Punjabi Hindu family and spent his formative years in Uttam Nagar. Delhi has been his domestic team since 2006, and he made his first-class debut for them against Tamil Nadu at Delhi in November 2006.

He captained India at the 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, where the team won the title and he finished as the tournament’s third-highest scorer.

International career

Kohli made his ODI debut in the Sri Lanka v India match at Dambulla on 18 August 2008. His T20I debut came against Zimbabwe at Harare on 12 June 2010, and his Test debut followed at Kingston against the West Indies, played 20 to 23 June 2011. He was dropped after a difficult start in Tests before being recalled.

He was named full-time Test captain after MS Dhoni retired during the tour of Australia, which followed a 2014 tour of England where he averaged 13.4. India won 40 of the 68 Tests he led, which made him the fourth-most successful Test captain in the world, behind Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh. Between 2020 and 2022 he gave up the T20I, ODI and Test captaincy in succession.

Kohli announced his retirement from T20 Internationals after India won the 2024 T20 World Cup, where he was Player of the Match in the final. He later retired from Test cricket midway through IPL 2025.

IPL

Royal Challengers Bangalore picked Kohli through a draft in the IPL’s early years for $50,000, a decision influenced by his showing at the Under-19 World Cup. He has been with the franchise, now Royal Challengers Bengaluru, since 2008, and is the only player to have featured in every IPL season for one team.

Career stats at a glance

In Tests, Kohli has scored 9230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, with 30 hundreds and a highest score of 254.

In ODIs he has 14181 runs in 303 matches at 57.65, including 50 hundreds and a best of 183. In T20Is he has 4188 runs in 125 matches at 48.7, with one hundred and a highest score of 122.

In the IPL he has made 8661 runs in 267 matches at 39.55, with eight hundreds and a highest score of 113.

By MaidanBeat Desk · updated 27 Oct 2026