Virat Kohli (Image credit: TimesofIndia.com)
Virat Kohli turns 38 today. Over the years, the Indian batting star has given cricket fans countless reasons to celebrate. His big centuries, match-winning knocks, aggressive style, animated celebrations and record-breaking performances have made him one of the most popular cricketers in the world.Kohli first came into the spotlight when he led India to the Under-19 World Cup title in 2008. Soon after, he made his international debut and began a journey that saw him break one record after another. He went on to establish himself as one of the best batters across all formats.From Tests and ODIs to T20 cricket, Kohli has scored runs and won matches for India.As he turns 38, Kohli will look to add more runs, records and trophies to his already impressive career. One of his biggest goals will be the 2027 ODI World Cup. Having been part of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning team, he will hope to win the trophy once again.As the batting superstar celebrates his 38th birthday, here are 38 numbers and records that tell the story of his remarkable cricket journey.
Virat Kohli ODI records
- Most ODI centuries in men’s cricket: Virat Kohli has scored 55 ODI centuries, going past
Sachin Tendulkar ‘s record of 49. He is the first batter to score 50 centuries in the format. He reached the milestone with 117 against New Zealand in the 2023 World Cup semi-final at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. - Fastest to 10,000 ODI runs: Kohli reached 10,000 ODI runs in just 205 innings. He achieved the milestone 54 innings faster than Tendulkar.
- Most runs in successful ODI chases: Kohli has scored 6,477 runs in successful ODI chases. He is ahead of Tendulkar in this category.
- Most ODI centuries in successful run chases: Kohli has scored 25 centuries while chasing targets in ODIs. No batter has scored more.
- Most runs in a single men’s ODI World Cup edition: Kohli scored 765 runs in 11 innings at the 2023 World Cup. He went past Tendulkar’s record of 673 runs in the 2003 edition.
- Highest run-scorer in ODI run chases: Kohli has scored 8,741 runs in 180 matches and 169 innings while chasing targets. He went past Tendulkar’s tally of 8,720 runs against New Zealand on November 4, 2026.
- Most ODI centuries while chasing: Kohli has scored 30 centuries while chasing in ODIs. He is the only batter to reach this mark.
- First batter to score 13,000 ODI runs while batting at No. 3: Kohli became the first batter to cross 13,000 ODI runs at the No. 3 position. This record shows his consistency while batting at one of India’s most important positions.
Virat Kohli T20 World Cup and T20I records
- Most runs in men’s T20 World Cup history: Kohli scored 1,292 runs across five editions of the T20 World Cup, from 2012 to 2024. He finished as the tournament’s highest run-scorer.
- Most runs in a single men’s T20 World Cup edition: Kohli scored 319 runs in the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. This remains the highest tally by a batter in a single edition.
- First player to win consecutive T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament awards: Kohli won the Player of the Tournament award in the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups. He was the first player to win the honour in two consecutive editions.
- Highest career batting average among the leading run-scorers in T20 World Cup history: Kohli has an average of 58.72 across five editions of the T20 World Cup. This is the highest average among the tournament’s leading run-scorers.
- Most Player-of-the-Match awards in men’s T20Is at retirement: Kohli had won 16 Player-of-the-Match awards in T20Is when he retired from the format. His tally included the award in India’s 2024 T20 World Cup final.
- Most Player-of-the-Series awards in men’s T20Is: Kohli won seven Player-of-the-Series awards in T20Is. He held the record when he retired from the format.
- Most runs by an Indian T20I captain in a bilateral series: Kohli scored 558 runs during India’s 2016 T20I series against Australia. This is the highest tally by an Indian captain in a bilateral T20I series.
Virat Kohli Test records
- Highest ICC Test batting rating points by an Indian: Kohli reached 937 rating points in the ICC Test rankings in 2018. This is the highest rating achieved by an Indian batter.
- Most double centuries by a Test captain: Kohli scored seven double centuries as a Test captain. No other captain has scored more.
- Most Test double centuries by an Indian batter: Kohli has scored seven double centuries in Test cricket. He shares the Indian record with Virender Sehwag.
- Most Test matches as India’s captain: Kohli captained India in 68 Tests. No other Indian captain has led the team in more matches.
- Most Test victories as India’s captain: India won 40 of the 68 Tests under Kohli’s captaincy. He remains India’s most successful Test captain in terms of victories.
- Most Test runs as India’s captain: Kohli scored 5,864 runs in Tests as captain. This is the highest tally by an Indian captain.
- Most Test centuries as India’s captain: Kohli scored 20 Test centuries as captain. No other Indian captain has scored more.
- Highest individual Test score by an Indian captain: Kohli scored an unbeaten 254 against South Africa in Pune in October 2019. It remains the highest individual Test score by an Indian captain.
- First Indian captain to score twin centuries on captaincy debut: Kohli scored 115 and 141 against Australia in Adelaide in December 2014. He became the first Indian captain to score a century in each innings of his first match as captain.
- First Indian to score four centuries in a single overseas Test series: Kohli achieved this feat during India’s 2014-15 tour of Australia. He scored four centuries in the series.
- First batter to score double centuries in four consecutive Test series: Kohli scored a double century in four successive Test series against the West Indies, New Zealand, England and Bangladesh between 2016 and 2017. He went past Donald Bradman and Rahul Dravid, who had scored double centuries in three consecutive series.
- Highest Test runs by an Indian in a single home season: Kohli scored 1,059 runs during India’s 2016-17 home season at an average of 75.64. No Indian batter has scored more runs in a single home season.
Virat Kohli IPL records
- Most runs in IPL history: Kohli has scored 8,779 runs in the IPL as of November 3, 2026, according to the IPL historical records archive. He is the competition’s highest run-scorer.
- Most centuries in IPL history: Kohli has scored nine centuries in the IPL. He is ahead of Jos Buttler, who has seven.
- Most half-centuries in IPL history: Kohli has scored 64 half-centuries in the IPL. This is the highest tally in the competition.
- Highest individual run tally in a single IPL season: Kohli scored 973 runs for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 2016 season. Shubman Gill’s 890 runs in 2023 are the second-highest tally.
- Most centuries in an IPL season: Kohli scored four centuries in the 2016 IPL season. He shares the record with Jos Buttler, who also scored four centuries in 2022.
- First player to score 8,000 IPL runs: Kohli became the first batter to reach 8,000 runs in the IPL. He has since extended his lead at the top of the all-time run charts.
- First batter to score 600-plus runs in four consecutive IPL seasons: Kohli achieved this feat from 2023 to 2026. No other batter has scored more than 600 runs in four successive IPL seasons.
Virat Kohli closing in on Sachin Tendulkar
- Second-highest run-scorer in international cricket history: Kohli has scored more than 28,000 international runs across Tests, ODIs and T20Is. He is behind only Tendulkar, who finished his career with 34,357 runs.
- Second-highest century-maker in international cricket: Kohli has scored 86 international centuries. Only Tendulkar, with 100 centuries, is ahead of him.
- Second-highest run-scorer in ODI history: Kohli has scored more than 15,000 runs in ODIs. He is behind Tendulkar, who holds the record with 18,426 runs.
