Virat Kohli made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Sri Lanka on 18th August 2008, exactly 9 years ago. At that time he was a typical Delhi boy; stylish, confident and very aggressive.
But, 9 years later, he has established himself as one of the greats of modern-day cricket. He has worked extremely hard on his game and body and taken his batting to a different league altogether.
Many cricket fans and pundits across the world believe that he has the ability and numbers to break many records in the book, including that of his idol Sachin Tendulkar.
If we look back from where Virat Kohli started, one thing is for sure that he was always focused and greedy for success. He had lots of aggression but he didn’t know how to channelise it in the right way.
But, in these 9 years, he has played a lot of cricket for India and mastered the art of chasing. Kohli himself says that he performs better under pressure and the Delhi boy brings out his best when some tries to get under his skin.
Those who have followed Virat Kohli’s career would agree that he had leadership abilities right from his U19 days. The way he led India to glory in the U19 World Cup in Australia made him a household name among Indian cricket fans.
Coming back to his debut ODI match against Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli scored just 12 runs as he was dismissed by Lanka’s fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara.
But, 9 years later, he is the captain of Indian cricket team across all three formats of the game and widely regarded as one of the best ODI batsmen in the history of the game. He is also, arguably, the best batsman in the world across all three formats of the game.
To celebrate 9 years of ODI cricket, Virat Kohli posted a photograph where he was sitting on the same chair where he sat in 2008 on day of his debut.
“It all started on this very chair, this very date and this very ground. 9 years today with the Indian cricket team! So grateful. @BCCI,” Virat Kohli tweeted.
It all started on this very chair, this very date and this very ground. 9 years today with the Indian cricket team! So grateful. ? @BCCI pic.twitter.com/23vEL1tO3K
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 18, 2017
