India

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

<h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>India cricket supporters have witnessed many great players, but few greater than Virat Kohli, who has reigned supreme in the cricket world with his incredible batting talent. Born on November 5, 1988, in Delhi to Prem Kohli, a criminal lawyer, and Saroj Kohli, a housewife, Kohli joined West Delhi Cricket Academy in 1998 and got trained under his coach Rajkumar Sharma.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Career Information</h3>
<p><strong>Test Debut:</strong> West Indies vs India at Kingston, June 20-23, 2011</p>
<p><strong>ODI Debut:</strong> Sri Lanka vs India at Dambulla, August 18, 2008</p>
<p><strong>T20I Debut: </strong>Zimbabwe vs India at Harare, June 12, 2010</p>
<p><strong>IPL Debut:</strong> Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, April 18, 2008</p>
<p>In 2006, Kohli made his List A debut for Delhi against Services at the age of 17. In November 2006, at 18, he made his maiden appearance in first-class cricket for his state. However, in 2008, he grabbed eyeballs as he led the India Under-19 team from the front to a title triumph in the <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cwc-cricket-world-cup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Cup</a>.</strong></p>
<h3>International Debut:</h3>
<p>Following his impressive show for the junior side in the Under-19 World Cup, Kohli got selected in the ODI team for the Sri Lanka tour in 2008. On August 18, 2008, 19-year-old Kohli made his international debut in the first ODI against Sri Lanka and opened the innings with Gautam Gambhir. He was dismissed on 12 runs in his maiden international game.</p>
<h3>Earning a spot in the national squad:</h3>
<p>In 2010, the Indian team management backed Kohli despite his struggle with the bat in the back-to-back series. However, in the three-match ODI series against Australia at home, he notched up a century and earned the Player of the Match award in the second match in Visakhapatnam. During the home ODI series against New Zealand, Kohli hit a crucial match-winning century in the first game in Guwahati.</p>
<p>Appearing in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, Kohli’s crucial 83-run stand with Gautam Gambhir helped India in a memorable triumph. In June 2011, Kohli received a Test cap as he made his first appearance in the longest format of the game in the first match against the West Indies in Kingston.</p>
<p>In December 2011, he went to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and emerged as the leading run-scorer for India. Playing the final game at the Adelaide Oval, he also scored his maiden century against the Aussies. In 2012, Kohli won the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award after becoming the top scorer in 2011.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Captaincy Career:</h3>
<p>In the absence of the regular skipper <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/ms-dhoni" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MS Dhoni</a></strong>, due to an injury, Kohli captained the side in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2014-15. On the bouncy track of Adelaide Oval, he exuded confidence as a batter with his twin centuries (115 and 141)..&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the second innings, Kohli’s elegant innings gave the Aussies a headache as the visitors looked set to chase 364 with ease before a dramatic batting collapse. India lost the distinguished four-match Test competition by a 2-0 margin but for Kohli, it was a perfect series as he became the leading run-scorer for India, scoring 692 runs with four centuries and a half-century in eight innings.&nbsp;</p>
<p>After MS Dhoni’s retirement from Test cricket in December 2014, Kohli got the reins of the Test captaincy. From 2015-17, the Indian Test team looked in magnificent form under him. Thrashing the quality teams such as South Africa, New Zealand, England, and Australia, India became a dominant side at home.</p>
<p>After leading India for 10 years in white-ball cricket, MS Dhoni stepped down as a skipper. Filling the shoes of the veteran, Kohli took the mantle of captaincy with the three-match ODI series against England at home. Leading the ODI team for the first time as a full-time skipper, he secured a 2-1 win against the visitors.&nbsp;</p>
<p>As an ODI captain, Kohli faced one of the major blows in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 as India got hammered by the arch-rivals Pakistan in the final. However, after the infamous defeat, he created history with his captaincy skills as the Indian team achieved immense success not only at home but also overseas. In February 2018, Kohli and his men pummelled the Proteas by a 5-1 margin and tasted their maiden ODI series win in South Africa.</p>
<p>In 2018-19, India achieved success in winning a Test series in Australia for the first time. After more than two years of the spectacular journey under the veteran’s leadership, India played some brilliant cricket in the 2019 World Cup as well. However, New Zealand handed an 18-run defeat to the Men in Blue in the semi-final and shattered their dream of lifting the trophy.</p>
<p>During his captaincy stint, Kohli came under fierce criticism for not winning any major trophies for the nation. In 2021, the ICC Test Championship final loss and the embarrassing <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20-world-cup" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>T20 World Cup</strong></a> campaign made the matter worse. After the T20 World Cup 2021, he relinquished the shortest format’s captaincy. In January 2022, Kohli stepped down as India’s captain from ODI and Tests as well.</p>
<h3>IPL Career:</h3>
<p>In 2008, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) roped in Virat Kohli for INR 12 lakh at the auction. &nbsp;Since the maiden season of the tournament, he has been a vital cog in the team due to his incredible batting potential. After serving the franchise efficiently for five seasons, he got the captaincy mantle in 2013. In 2016, Kohli had the best <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPL</a></strong> season as he looked effective with the bat, becoming the highest run-scorer in the competition with a record 973 runs in the season, including four centuries.. However, with captaincy, he couldn’t help the team to win their maiden title losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final. In 2021, he left the captaincy after leading the franchise for nine seasons.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Virat Kohli Personal Life:</h3>
<p>In 2013, Virat Kohli started dating Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma. His relationship with the diva got a lot of media attention. On December 11, 2017, both got married in a private ceremony in Florence, Italy. After more than three years of marriage, the couple became parents as they welcomed a daughter, Vamika, in Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital.</p>

Virat Kohli News: Check out the latest news and updates on Virat Kohli along with photos, videos, biography, career stats, family, lifestyle, and more on CricTracker.

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India Blue

Mumbai

Mumbai Indians

<h2>Introduction:</h2>
<p>Rohit Sharma is a colossal batting figure in international cricket due to his formidable batting technique. During his initial days in the sport, he started as an off-spinner who could bat in the lower order. However, his coach Dinesh Lad recognised his batting skills and assigned him the role of an opener. In the Harris and Giles Shield school cricket tournament, he showcased his batting talent notching a century on debut.</p>
<h3>Rohit Sharma's Career information</h3>
<p><strong>Test Debut:</strong> India vs West Indies at Eden Gardens, November 6, 2013<br><strong>ODI Debut: </strong>Ireland vs India at Civil Service Cricket Club, June 23, 2007<br><strong>T20I Debut:</strong> India vs England at Kingsmead, September 19, 2007</p>
<h3>Early domestic career:</h3>
<p>In February 2006, Rohit Sharma made his domestic debut for West Zone in the Deodhar trophy and grabbed eyes with his knock of 142 runs off 123 deliveries against North Zone. In July 2006, he broke into first-class cricket with his debut for India A against New Zealand A at Darwin. Later, in the 2006-07 Ranji Trophy, he became a part of Mumbai and scored 205 runs in a game against Gujarat.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>International career:</h3>
<p>Witnessing the fine batting figures of Sharma in the domestic circuit, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) picked him up for the 2007 Future Cup that featured Ireland and South Africa. He got included in the playing XI against Ireland at Belfast but didn’t bat as India won &nbsp;the match comfortably with nine wickets in hand.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the 2007 World T20, he made his T20 International debut in the match against South Africa. Filling the boots of injured Yuvraj Singh, Sharma scored his maiden fifty that helped India win the match. Against the arch-rivals Pakistan in the final game, he contributed to the team’s victory with his rapid 30-run innings.</p>
<p>Following his hit show in the marquee event, the selectors showed faith in him for the One-Day International series against Pakistan at home. In the last match against the Men in Green in Jaipur, he hit a maiden half-century in a losing cause. In 2008, Sharma travelled to Australia for the Commonwealth Bank Series 2007-08 and scored 235 runs with two fifties, of which one came in the crucial first-final match against Australia in Sydney.</p>
<h3>Lean phase:</h3>
<p>After contributing to India’s phenomenal ODI series triumph in Australia, Sharma’s form dippedand he lost his spot to Suresh Raina. In 2010, he delivered some decent knocks to the team in the Zimbabwe Tri-Series and strived to reserve his berth for the 2011 World Cup in India. In 2011, Sharma failed to show up in the bilateral ODI tournament in South Africa and couldn’t find a place in India’s team for the 2011 World Cup.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In June 2011, Sharma returned to the ODI team during India’s tour of the West Indies. Against the Caribbeans, the right-hander tried to regain his rhythm with a couple of half-centuries. In 2012, the explosive batter hit a new low as he could amass only 168 runs in the calendar year.</p>
<h3>Dominance in white-ball format:</h3>
<p>After phasing out the veterans Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir due to their poor form, <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/ms-dhoni" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MS Dhoni</a></strong> assigned Rohit Sharma the role of an opener in the 2013 Champions Trophy. His skipper’s move to promote him in the batting order proved beneficial as he came hard on bowlers in the marquee event.</p>
<p>In November 2013, he notched historic 209 runs against Australia in Bengaluru and became the third cricketer to score a double hundred in ODIs. After hitting a double century in 2013, Sharma delivered another charismatic batting performance against Sri Lanka in November 2014. At <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/eden-gardens-kolkata-history-stadium-capacity-stands-stats-trivia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eden Gardens</a></strong>, he racked up 264 runs and became the first player to score double century twice in ODIs.</p>
<p>Playing his second World Cup in 2019, the ferocious India opener showcased his exceptional batting skills becoming the top run-scorer. In the tournament, Sharma hit five centuries and broke the former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Sanagakkara’s record of four tons in a <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cwc-cricket-world-cup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Cup</a></strong>.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>India Captaincy:</h3>
<p>In December 2017, Rohit Sharma led the team phenomenally against Sri Lanka at home in the limited formats as <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/virat-kohli" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Virat Kohli</a></strong> was given a rest ahead of the 2018 South Africa tour. Next year, he captained the team again and won Nidahas Trophy and Asia Cup with his leadership talent.&nbsp;<br>In February 2022, Sharma became the full-time skipper of India after Virat Kohli gave up his Test captaincy in January.</p>
<h3>Test career:</h3>
<p>Sharma began his Test career in 2013 in a home series against the West Indies. Playing his debut match, he displayed confidence scoring a match-winning hundred. However, after that performance, he struggled to be among the runs in South Africa (2013-14) and Australia (2014-15) tours.</p>
<p>In 2018, selectors dropped Sharma from the Test team due to his dismal batting performance in the 2017-18 South Africa tour. However, the veteran featured in India whites again in the four-match Test series in Australia in 2018-19. In October 2019, he played his best Test innings against South Africa in Ranchi and helped the team to vanquish the visitors comfortably.</p>
<h3>IPL Journey:</h3>
<p>Sharma started his <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPL </a></strong>career with Deccan Chargers in the inaugural season in 2008. In 2011, he joined Mumbai Indians (MI) and became a vital cog due to his brilliant batting technique. During the sixth edition of the league, MI assigned him the responsibility of captaining the team after Ricky Ponting’s failure as batter and skipper. Since then, there is no turning back for him as the veteran has won five titles with his leadership qualities and made the franchise joint most successful in the history of the tournament.</p>
<h3>Rohit Sharma's Personal Life:</h3>
<p>On December 13, 2015, Sharma married Ritika Sajdeh, who is a sports event manager by profession. They welcomed a daughter, whom they named Samaira Sharma. Sharma also engages in philanthropic activities as he has promoted causes of health, children, and animal welfare in the past.</p>

Rohit Sharma News: Check out the latest news and updates on Rohit Sharma along with photos, videos, biography, career stats, and more on CricTracker.

Virat Kohli

India

Rohit Sharma

India

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