HIGHLIGHTS

• Virat Kohli made his international debut on August 18, 2008 in Sri Lanka
• Kohli got out for 12 on his ODI debut wherein he opened for India
• Kohli made his international debut under MS Dhoni’s captaincy

On this day, 13 years ago, Virat Kohli took his first step in international cricket as the then 19-year-old made his India debut. After leading India to U-19 World Cup glory earlier that year, Kohli did not have to wait long for an India call-up and the Delhi batsman got his India cap in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Dambulla on August 18, 2008.

Virat Kohli was one of the highly-rated youngsters when he made the senior national team. In his debut under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, Kohli opened the innings along with Gautam Gambhir while India’s premier opener of today, Rohit Sharma batted at No. 5.

India got off to a poor start after losing Gautam Gambhir and there was pressure on young Virat Kohli. The right-hander had hit a boundary and was batting at 12 when he was trapped LBW by Nuwan Kulasekara. Kohli was troubled by a delivery that seamed in after pitching outside the off-stump.

It was a disappointing start to international cricket for Virat Kohli but the Delhi batsman got opportunities to prove his worth. Kohli scored a fifty in his maiden series in Colombo but the big break came when Sri Lanka toured India in 2009. Kohli hit his maiden hundred against Sri Lanka in Kolkata in December 2009.

He hasn’t looked back from there as the India captain has evolved into one of the greatest players to have ever played the sport. Kohli has 12,169 runs in 254 ODIs. He averages 59.07 and has hit 43 hundreds in the 50-over format of the game.

Virat Kohli had to wait 2 more years before he made his T20I debut. It was only in 2011, Kohli made his Test debut. In 10 years time, Kohli led India to the final of the World Test Championship. He is widely credited for helping change the way India played its Test cricket, especially in overseas conditions. Kohli, who has 27 hundreds in 94 Tests, has been going through a lean patch in the longest format of the game but the captain in him has been getting the job done.

Kohli led India to a 151-run win over England in the recently-concluded 2nd Test at Lord’s earlier this week. The Asian giants, who defeated Australia in Australia earlier this year, are looking to win their first-ever Test series in England since 2007.