Wishes flood on Twitter as Virat Kohli turns 28 today

Indian Test captain Virat Kohli who has been the poster boy of Indian cricket for the last couple of years celebrates his 28th birthday today as his team gears up to take on England in what is expected to be a grilling 5-match Test series.

The last eight years in Indian cricket have seen Virat transform. He was the teenager from Delhi who had just led his team to success in the Under-19 World Cup when he first emerged in the scenes. He abused when he took a stunning catch and we saw emotions overflow every time he hit a century or performed well with the bat. He was almost on the verge of being tagged a brash brat with tons of attitude but then we saw the next phase.

As he spent time with the team, understood what amount of responsibility he was carrying, what was expected of him, how the youngsters in the country looked up to him as a role model for not just the cricket but tried to imitate everything. And his attitude, the approach mellowed down.

It took him time, but the new Virat still has that spark of aggression in him, he doesn’t let the opposition get under his skin but smiles each time he wins a match for the team or reaches the triple figures.

Also check out- Virender Sehwag celebrates Virat ‘Chikoo’ Kohli’s birthday

The way he has progressed on the cricket field is evident of the fact that he has overcome a lot of mental barriers and distractions to be the Virat Kohli the world watches in awe and admires today. He played with his idol Sachin Tendulkar, someone he grew up watching and idolizing and possibly would have been a great moment when he named Virat as the one who could break his records.

As he turns 28, expectations grow with him, each time he walks out on the cricket field from the fans to his teammates and even the opposition believes he will make it big and he has now learnt how to live with it and to not let it affect him rather considers it a source to push himself to do better.

Here are some of the wishes from teammates, former teammates and others: