ViratKohli

Undoubtedly one of India’s finest ever batters, Virat Kohli has been a superstar of international cricket for well over a decade.

Kohli’s first opportunity to represent India came in 2006 when he played for India’s Under-19 team.

His senior international career took off soon after when Kohli made his one-day international debut against Sri Lanka in August 2008.

The batting tyro had five ODI centuries before his Test career began (in 2011 against West Indies), and while it didn’t begin with the same success, his maiden century against Australia in Adelaide in 2012 proved a turning point in the longest format.

On that same tour Kohli hit Malinga’s Sri Lanka for a stunning 133no (86) in Hobart, commencing what would become a phenomenal record in ODI run chases.

When Kohli returned to Australia for the 2014-15 summer, he was primed for greatness - he hit 692 runs in four Tests (with four centuries), the most runs ever scored by a visiting batter in a four-Test series in Australia.

With a dominant run in the mid-to-late 2010s, Kohli would rise to the top of the ICC’s batting rankings in all three formats, and have good stints at the top of all of them.

His rise to captaincy was expected and he would lead his side in all three formats for close to a decade, from 2014 before handing it over to Rohit Sharma in 2022.

Kohli had a prolific home World Cup in 2023 which included scoring his 50th ODI century against New Zealand in the semi-final, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar (49) with the most tons in the format.

On a team success front, Kohli won the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup, announcing his retirement from T20 internationals immediately after the latter.