“Virat Kohli” the king was born on 5 November 1998 as the youngest son of a Criminal lawyer “Prem Kohli” and a housewife “Saroj Kohli” in Delhi. He belongs to a Punjabi family. He was supported by his elder brother Vikash and sister Bhavna. He is the man who was born for Cricket, it is heard that Virat was nearly 3 years old when he used to pick up the bat and started flying the ball asking his father Prem to bowl for him.
He grew up in Uttam Nagar, Delhi. He studied at Vishal Bharati Public School. The way of creating history started in 1998 when the West Delhi Academy was created. And King Kohli took part in it by playing with the children of his age. According to his coach, he always wanted to play with his seniors even though the coach didn’t let him. And after all, one day his coach gave him permission to play with his seniors and the day he played so well. Even though he was hit on his chest with the ball, he wanted to play more and this shows Virat’s deep love and his aggression towards cricket.
His career phase started by playing domestically. it was when he was 14, that he got selected for the Delhi Under-15 squad. In October 2002 he got a chance to play Polly Umrigar Trophy, where he was seen as the leading run-scorer by making 172 runs with an average of 34.40. As we all know, the Child has several responsibilities regarding the most important study at this small age. The skipper now times became captain for the first time in the 2003-04 Polly Umrigar trophy and though with these difficult responsibilities, he scored 2 centuries and 2 fifties in this tournament.
Time was going on and he was doing better. It’s about the Under-17 Vijay Merchant Trophy in 2004, in which Virat was the leading run scorer with 470 runs in just four matches including 2 centuries and the highest score of 251 not out. In July 2006, Virat was selected for the Under-19 Indian team for its tour to England. India won the series and a great contribution to these wins of Virat Kohli was pretty impressive as he scored runs with an average of 105. India Under-19 then toured Pakistan and there too Virat’s contribution was amazing. Virat became the captain of the victorious India Under-19 of the 2008 ICC Under-19 World Cup, hosted in Malaysia. Batting at no. 4, Kohli scored 235 runs in 6 matches and finished the tournament as the third-highest run-getter in the tournament. His hundred (100 off 74) was called the “Inning of the Tournament”. Following this tournament, Virat was called up to IPL (Indian Premier League) by Royal Challenger Bangalore for $30,000.
Time never stops for anyone and it was just not enough. For this time Virat worked hard, left everything, and just focused on his game. His International Career started in August 2008, He was included in the Indian Squad for the Sri Lanka Tour and ICC® Champions Trophy hosted in Pakistan. Kohli had played only eight List A matches and his selection was pretty surprising. Indian openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were injured, so Virat got to open from his side. In his debut ODI, he scored 12 runs. He scored the first fifty in the 4th match of the same Tour (score of 54). Then Virat was called up as a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan, who played for India.
Then Kohli played for Delhi in the Nizzar Trophy and scored good runs in both innings, 52 and 197. Now again Kohli was included in the Indian Squad for the home ODI series against England, but there Kohli didn’t get a chance to play as Sehwag and Sachin were back from injury.
Virat Kohli was selected for the Emerging Player Team of India for the four-team Emerging Player Tournament. He opened the innings for India in the Tournament and finished the tournament as usual as the most run-getter with 398 runs. He scored an amazing hundred (104 off 102) in the final of the tournament against South Africa. This tournament was called the “turning point” of his career.
The rise of his career started from here when Virat Kohli was named captain for the Tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in May-June 2010, as many of the senior players were not playing. Kohli made 168 runs in the tournament with two fifties, but India suffered three matches defeat and got out of the series. Virat was also included in the team for the Asia Cup in 2010, throughout the tournament Kohli batted at no. 3 nut he in total scored just 67 runs. His struggle with his poor form continues.
Despite of Kohli’s poor form, he was selected in the three-match series against Australia, during this series Kohli completed his third ODI hundred (118 off 121). While the good performance of Kohli in the following series of New Zealand he was regular in the ODI team. He was the highest run-scorer in the Year 2010 with 995 runs from 25 matches. His string of consistency continued as he was again the leading run-getter in the series against South Africa in 2011, because of this brilliant performance he jumped to rank 2 in the ICC ODI Batsmen Rankings.
There is a quote that Great success comes after failure, it is about Kohli’s comeback to the team and being regular in the ODI team. He played every single match of the tournament. Also, in the first match against Bangladesh, he scored his first World Cup hundred and became the first player to score a hundred in World Cup history.
Why is Virat Kohli as an inspiration?
Virat Kohli was 18 when his father Prem left him. Prem was 54 when he died. In the wee hours of December 19, 2006, Kohli Senior succumbed to a heart attack.
Kohli was playing a Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka. He was batting on 40 overnight. Much to the surprise of his teammates, Kohli returned and scored 90 to save Delhi from a follow-on.
Almost a decade after his father’s death, Kohli, now 27, told CNN why his father’s death did not stop him from batting for Delhi.
“I still remember the night my father passed away as it was the hardest time in my life. But the call to play the morning after my father’s death came instinctively to me.
“I called my (Delhi) coach in the morning. I said I wanted to play because for me not completing a cricket game is a sin.
“That was a moment that changed me as a person. The importance this sport holds in my life is very, very high” Kohli said.
His single-minded focus on the field has been a hallmark of his game. Kohli’s passion to excel and conquer the odds has already earned a special place in the game’s folklore.
Kohli has often been compared to Sachin Tendulkar and he has been no less than a god to his teammates – Team India or Royal Challengers Bangalore. Interestingly, Tendulkar also went back to play cricket after his father’s death.
Kohli is the leading batsman in IPL 2016. He has been smashing records and recently broke Tendulkar’s record by becoming the only IPL captain to score over 500 runs in IPLs thrice.
His hunger for runs, irrespective of the format, makes Kohli a special man. He is the first to score two centuries in an IPL season. He could well set a higher benchmark, a feat difficult to achieve in the shortest format of the game.
Man of the Tournament in the ICC World T20, Kohli, India’s Test captain, is the best man to replace MS Dhoni, India’s captain in limited overs cricket.
“When you have your father’s blessings, nothing is impossible,” Virat said.
And this is enough to regard him as “The truest inspiration”.
By: Ayush Kumar Poddar, Science, E1