All the cricket bats Virat Kohli has used over the years
14 years ago, on 18th August 2008, one of Indian cricket's superstars made his debut for the national team. Cut to now, and he's arguably one of the best players in the world. Yes; it's the 14th anniversary of Virat Kohli's ODI debut against Sri Lanka and it comes at a time when he's undergoing a lean patch.
14 years ago, it all started and it's been an honour 🇮🇳
instagram.com/reel/ChYzB_qAH…
Kohli has absolutely dominated world cricket for more than half of the last decade, and while his form has taken a turn for the worse in the last couple of years, his numbers are insane, whichever way you slice it.
He's also one of cricket's global stars, with plenty of endorsements and advertisements in his kitty.
Fans are always intrigued by the different brands of cricketing gear which their favorite stars use. Their choice of bat, especially, is something that captures the attention of fans across the globe.
Virat Kohli has used a couple of different bats throughout his international career. Let's look at them now.
#1 BDM Dynamic Power (Till 2008)
Starting from his U-19 cricketing days on the big stage to his international debut against Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli used a BDM Dynamic bat.
BD Mahajan and Sons, a Meerut-based manufacturer, made the bats which the Indian cricket superstar used at the beginning of his international career. This was the bat he used when he led the Indian U-19 side to a World Cup win in 2008.
One of his most memorable knocks using this bat was his maiden ODI half-century against Sri Lanka. Opening the batting with Gautam Gambhir, Kohli scored 54 runs off 66 balls to get to that landmark. However, he couldn't carry on and convert the fifty into a hundred, and was bowled by Thilan Tushara.
#2Nike (2009-2013)
From 2009, Virat Kohli began using bats with a Nike sticker on them, manufactured by SS (Sareen Sports Industries). One of many batters wearing Nike on their willow at that point in time, Kohli used the bat for five years, winning the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy for the Men in Blue during the period, among other accolades.
He scored his maiden ODI hundred against Sri Lanka in December 2009 using this same bat, and it was one among many memorable knocks he played using the willow.
Arguably his best knock during this period was his splendid knock of 183 against Pakistan in the 2012 Asia Cup. Kohli scored 183 runs off 148 balls as India recorded their highest-ever successful ODI run chase.
#3 MRF (2014- present)
After his deal with Nike ended, Virat Kohli signed a deal with MRF and has been using bats with their logo ever since. In years to come, he would dominate world cricket and sit at the top of the ICC Batters' rankings in all formats at some point in time.
While he hasn't tasted much success in ODI cricket with India as a team, going out in the semi-finals of both the 2015 and the 2019 World Cups, Kohli's record in ODIs as an individual is simply excellent.
Using the MRF bat, Kohli has scored over 7000 runs in ODI cricket, averaging a mind-boggling 63.07, and scoring 26 hundreds along the way.
While he may not be in the best of form right now, there's no denying that he's one of the best players to ever play the game. There's plenty of cricket left in him, and won't be long before he's smashing bowlers with that MRF willow of his.