T20 World Cup: King Kohli is getting better with age

When India won the Under-19 World Cup under Virat Kohli in 2008, one could see glimpses of the aggressive Kohli 15 years ago but none would have imagined he would reach such great heights in all forms of cricket.

He was fast-tracked into the Indian team in the same year and the rest is history, as they say. Kohli, who turned 34 on Saturday, has more than 24,000 international runs with 71 hundreds and an average of 50 across formats in a span of 14 years, is a remarkable record in itself.

What makes Kohli special is the hunger to win in every format he plays and to compete fiercely against all opposition in every condition. Everyone remembers the Adelaide Test in 2014 where he captained India for the first time against the famous Aussie side. India were set a target of 364 on a wearing pitch by Michael Clarke and Kohli being Kohli, went for it, scoring his second hundred of the match, rather than going for a draw when wickets were falling at the other end.

India did lose that match but the signs were ominous. Here was a captain who played to win and was not afraid of losing. India won a record 40 Tests in the 68 matches Kohli captained and he guided India to two series wins in Australia, when no other Indian captain had won a series Down Under.

What was more remarkable was, under him, India developed world class fast bowlers who could take 20 wickets regularly and make India win matches in foreign countries. His infectious energy on the field rubbed on all the players where there was never a dull moment when he captained India, whether he was batting or fielding and marshalling his bowlers.

His ODI record is impeccable too where he has 43 hundreds and 26 have come while chasing, which is why he is called the chase master. And more often than not, India win games when Kohli is at the crease chasing any target. Same goes for his T20 career where he has a whopping average of 53 in 113 matches at a strike rate of 138, which is simply difficult to match by any player because of the unpredictability of the shortest format.

Anis Sajan is the vice-chairman of the Danube Group