The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary, Jay Shah, congratulated India’s star batter Virat Kohli on completing 16 years in international cricket.
Kohli, 35, made his professional debut in 2008 against Sri Lanka and even though he just scored 12 runs in that match, the right-handed batter went on to become one of the greatest cricketers of all time.
Shah congratulated Kohli and went on to call him the “King” as his legendary journey started 16 years ago.
"16 years ago today, a 19-year-old @imVkohli stepped onto the international stage for the first time, marking the beginning of what has become a truly legendary career. Congratulations to the King on completing 16 years in international cricket," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The Indian great is widely considered as the greatest white-ball cricketer as in ODIs, he has scored 50 centuries, the most by any batter in ODI history, and amassed 13,906 runs in 295 matches at an impressive 58.18 average.
Meanwhile, in T20Is, the 35-year-old has accumulated 4,188 runs in 125 matches at an average of 48.68 and 137.04 strike rate and was also named the Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup 2014 and 2016. He was also declared the Player of the Match in the T20 World Cup 2024 final which India won by beating South Africa.
In red-ball cricket, Kohli has scored 8,848 runs in 113 matches (191 innings) at an average of 49.15 including 29 centuries and 30 fifties.
In total, the 35-year-old has so far scored 26,942 runs in 533 matches at the average of 53.35, including 80 centuries and 140 half-centuries, the second highest-run-scorer in history, only behind the great Sachin Tendulkar.
Kohli won three ICC trophies with India — ODI World Cup 2011, Champions Trophy 2013 and T20 World Cup 2024 — and his role was crucial in all of those triumphs.
- Virat Kohli
