16 years of Virat Kohli: Looking through his stunning trophy cabinet
The legendary Virat Kohli made his debut on August 18, 2008 in an ODI against Sri Lanka. Coming hot off his heroics in the 2008 U-19 World Cup, and a IPL season with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the youngster was one of the biggest prospects in the nation, and he sure did manage to live up to expectations.
Kohli has managed to cement his status as one of the best ever to play the game with his sheer passion, consistency, and skill. He is arguably the greatest ever all-format player in the world and he managed to leave another mark in the sport with his captaincy as well.
Since his debut, Kohli has been shattering records left and right and that has certainly helped the team's cause. One of India's most fruitful phases in cricket has coincided with Kohli's growth as a player, and he eventually became the flag-bearer.
The ace batter's trophy cabinet has only seen more additions as the years have gone by, and on that note, let us take a look at some of his biggest achievements on a cricket field.
#1 Team trophies
In terms of the big ICC event trophies, Kohli has nearly completed the lot, with only a World Test Championship (WTC) being the final frontier. He played crucial roles in each of Team India's last three iconic triumphs at the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2013 Champions Trophy, and the 2024 T20 World Cup. In terms of ICC trophies, Kohli also has a U-19 World Cup to his name. He led India in the 2008 edition of the tournament in Malaysia.
Kohli also has been part of three Asia Cup title wins. He won the trophy in the 2010, 2016, and the 2023 editions. He won the title as a skipper in the 2016 edition in Bangladesh.
Although he is yet to win the WTC, he has held the ICC Test Mace four times for steering India to the top of the rankings at the end of each year cycle.
Kohli also led India to an iconic series win in Australia during the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar series. He has won the trophy as a player too, beginning with the 2013 edition in India when the hosts had completed a clean sweep.
#2 Individual trophies
Kohli's individual accolades are a never-ending list, and it is a testament to his 16 years of brilliance. To start off with, he has been crowned as the ICC Cricketer of the Decade for his efforts prior to 2020.
He has won the ICC Cricketer of the Year award in 2017 and 2018. He has been crowned the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year a total of four times - 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2023.
The former skipper was also bestowed the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for asking the crowd not to boo Steve Smith during the 2019 ODI World Cup clash at The Oval.
Kohli has also been acknowledged by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian government for his excellence on the field. He has been conferred the Arjuna Award, the Padma Shri, and the Khel Ratna Award over the course of his career.
The batter was named the Cricketer of the Year a total of five times at the annual BCCI awards.
His other specific individual accolades include being the two-time winner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Orange Cap, along with Player of the Match displays in the 2024 T20 World Cup Final and the semi-final of the 2014 T20 World Cup. He was also crowned the Player of the Tournament in successive editions of the T20 World Cup in 2014 and 2016, as well as the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Kohli has more or less achieved almost everything that a cricketer can on the field from a team and from an individual point of view. The biggest two feathers that are missing on Kohli's cap is the ever-elusive IPL trophy and the WTC title. With the batter still going strong, one can expect him to complete the trophy cabinet before calling it a day.