Early Start

Virat Kohli born on November 5, 1988 in Delhi is the third child of Prem and Saroj Kohli. He has an older brother Vikash and an older sister Bhavna. According to his family, Virat was only 3 years when he first picked up the cricket bat. He attended Vishal Bharti Public School and later shifted to Saviour Convent in Paschim Vihar to help his cricket practice. In 2015, the family moved to Gurgaon (now Gurugram).

In 1998, when West Delhi Cricket Academy was founded, Virat Kohli, a nine-year-old cricket enthusiast joined the academy to learn professional cricket. He trained under Rajkumar Sharma. He played for Delhi Under-15 team (2002), Polly Umrigar Trophy (2003-04), Vijay Merchant Trophy Under-17 (2003-04). 

At the age of 18 years, in 2006 Virat made his first-class debut for Delhi against Tamil Nadu in November 2006, scoring just 10 in his debut innings. But in December when he decided to play for his team against Karnataka on the day after his father’s death on December 18, 2006 and went on to score 90, the nation watched the determination of a true cricketer. India bereaved with him.

According to Kohli, his father was his real Guru supporting his cricket training since childhood, “My father was my biggest support. He was the one who drove me to practice every day. I miss his presence sometimes.”

Virat Kohli made his ODI Debut against Sri Lanka in August 2008. In early 2008 Virat Captained the Indian U-19 team to victory at the 2008 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia.

During the 2011 South African series, Kohli was named for the 2011 World Cup. He played every match in India’s World Cup winning series and also scored a century in the tournament helping lead the team towards victory.

In the seven-match ODI series against Australia in 2013, Kohli struck the fastest century by an Indian in ODI.

In 2014, he was appointed the vice-captain of the ODI team which Virat says, he owes to everything MS Dhoni taught him. The rest is history.

T20I

Kohli made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe in 2010. During South Africa’s tour of India in 2015, Kohli crossed the 1,000 runs mark in T20I cricket and became the fastest batsman to do so. In the 2016 ICC World Twenty20, Virat Kohli played an unbeaten 82 from 51 balls to win against Australia. He ended the tournament with 273 runs in 5 matches that earned him his second consecutive Man of the Tournament award at the World Twenty20.

Records

Among the Indian batsmen, Virat Kohli has the best ever Test, ODI and Twenty20 International ratings. In ODIs, Kohli has the second highest number of centuries and the highest number of centuries in run-chases in the world. He is also the fastest batsman to 8,000, 9,000, 10,000 and 11,000 runs in ODI cricket, reaching the milestones in 175, 194, 205 and 222 innings respectively.

National Honours

2013 – Arjuna Award

2017 – Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award.

2018 – Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna

Honours and awards

• Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Cricketer of the Year): 2017, 2018
• ICC ODI Player of the Year: 2012, 2017, 2018
• ICC Test Player of the Year: 2018
• ICC ODI Team of the Year: 2012, 2014, 2016 (captain), 2017 (captain), 2018 (captain), 2019 (captain)
• ICC Test Team of the Year: 2017 (captain), 2018 (captain), 2019 (captain)
• ICC Spirit of Cricket: 2019
• Polly Umrigar Award for International Cricketer of the Year: 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
• Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World: 2016, 2017, 2018
• CEAT International Cricketer of the Year: 2011–12, 2013–14, 2018-19
• Barmy Army – International Player of Year: 2017, 2018
• A stand at Arun Jaitley Stadium is named Virat Kohli Stand on 12 September 2019.

(All Honours information courtesy Viraat Kohli Wikipedia)

IPL Career

Kohli started his IPL career with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on a youth contract in 2008. In his inaugural season, he scored only 165 runs in 12 innings. But in 2009 and 2010, he scored 246 and 307 runs respectively. In 2011 Kohli scored 557 runs, second only to Chris Gayle in the 2011 season with a strike rate of 121.

In 2013, Kohli was the third highest run getter scoring 634 runs including six fifties at a strike rate of over 138. In 2015, Kohli’s batting performance helped his team reach the playoffs as he scored 505 runs at an average of 45.90.

Royal Challengers finished the 2016 season as the runners-up and Kohli broke the record for most runs in an IPL season. Virat Kohli, scored 973 runs, including four centuries and also became the first player to reach the 4000-run milestone in the IPL. He also received the Orange Cap in the 2016 season.

Before the start of the 2018 season, Kohli was retained by the RCB for a price of INR 17 crores. In the 2019 season of the IPL, he became the second player to reach 5000 runs in IPL.

From September 19, 2020, Indians will be glued to their TV screens once again to watch Virat play this season of IPL.

The Virushka angle

The soon to be parents Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma have just recently shared the good news with their fans worldwide. The couple was married on December 11, 2017 in Florence, Italy.

Virat Kohli spoke about his reaction when he met Anushka for the first time in 2013 on an episode of Graham Bensinger’s talk show ‘In Depth with Graham Bensinger’ – “The first time I met her I cracked a joke immediately. I was very nervous and that’s why I cracked a joke because I didn’t know what to do. I was standing on sets and was being all nervous and jittery.”

During India’s loss in the 2015 World Cup semi-final, when trolls blamed Anushka for Virat’s distraction and early dismissal, he immediately took her side, writing a strong message on social media. It said, “Shame on those people who have been having a go at Anushka for the longest time and connecting every negative thing to her. Shame on those people calling themselves educated. Shame on blaming and making fun of her when she has no control over what I do with my sport. If anything, she has only motivated and given me more positivity.”

The beautiful couple was after all meant to be together.

Endorsements

Since 2008 Bunty Sajdeh of Cornerstone Sport and Entertainment is managing Kohli’s endorsement deals. The king of brand endorsement for a princely price of INR 4-4.5 crores per day has lent his name to some famous brands including,

2019

• Google Duo: Ambassador of Google Duo, he and Anushka are also featured in an advertisement for the brand.
• Colgate: To endorse Colgate’s new, Neon.
• Blue Star: Air conditioning and Refrigeration Company.
• Wellman: Supplements brand.
• Himalaya: Brand ambassador to the wellness firm Himalaya Drug Company.
• Mobile Premier League (MPL): Brand ambassador for Mobile eSports platform, MPL.

2018

• Philips India: Brand ambassador of Philips trimmers.
• Uber: Brand ambassador of app-based taxi service Uber.
• Boost Energy: GSK’s leading health drink Boost Energy.
• Amaze inverters and batteries: Advertisement for power products.
• Hero MotoCorp: Endorses Xtreme 200R.
• Volini: Official brand ambassador for Sun Pharma’s Volini pain relief products.
• Remit 2: Remit 2 India appoints Virat Kohli as its face of advertising.

2017

• Puma (One8): The Kohli-Puma ?100 crore deal for Puma apparel, footwear and accessories.
• MRF Tyres: Renews his contract with the company for the next eight years. Team India captain also uses the bat sponsorship by MRF Tyres for his matches.
• MuveAcoustics: For Hong Kong-based electronics company Zeeva.
• Too Yumm: Healthy snack health ambassador.
• Royal Challenge: Endorsing Royal Challenge Whisky.

2016

• Tissot: Chrono XL Classic Virat Kohli Special Edition has replaced 8 with18 in red to denote the number of Kohli’s Team India jersey.
• Audi: German Luxury Car Brand in India starting with Audi A6 launch
• American Tourister: Ambassador of American of Tourister luggage.
• Manyavar: Men’s ethnic wear.

2015

• Wrogn clothing by Universal Sportsbiz (USPL), is co-created by Kohli.

Charity and Service

On field the most aggressive cricketer, off field Virat shows his softer side through the ‘Virat Kohli Foundation (VKF)’. The charity founded in March 2013, aims at helping underprivileged kids.

Virat conducts events, Bollywood charity matches, charity auctions, and more to raise funds for the foundation. According to him, the foundation works with select NGOs to “create awareness, seek support and raise funds for the various causes they endorse and the philanthropic work they engage in”. 

Victorious Virat Kohli is not just India’s well-known cricketer but a role model to every aspiring cricketer. From cricketer to father-to-be, his story has become inspiring, incredible and adorable.

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The Start of Something New

IPL was founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on April 18, 2008, to promote cricket in the younger generation.The franchise based Twenty20 cricket competition came with a different format than the existing test matches then. Lalit Modi who was the Vice –President of BCCI and the mastermind of the tournament, laid down a format similar to the Premier League of England and the American NBA. In this format, the league would be managed by a seven-member governing council comprising of former India players and BCCI officials who would also lay down its Code of Conduct. He also worked out the prize money, franchise revenue system, and squad composition rules. With funding provided by Zee Entertainment Enterprises then, the first matches played in Delhi became a roaring success with Rajasthan Royals taking the cup home. Since then they have been played every year between March and May. The only change in the format since the launch is that the top four teams in the IPL 2020 points table play the ‘Playoffs’ instead of the semi-final and finals.

Initially, the IPL format did not go down very well with the die-hard cricket fans and some even termed the game as slam-bang. But since then the game has gathered a huge fan following and also presented a perfect opportunity for fearless batsmen to prove their game skill in a short format. It gave a new lease of life and fortunes to cricketers like R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Sharma, and Yusuf Pathan who were on the brink of oblivion.

Fun Facts of IPL

• Vivo IPL Cricket trophy is a player holding a bat in his hand covered in gold leafing. (Although Vivo has pulled out its name from sponsorship this year) Next to the player is a map of India. The map has all the names the IPL teams engraved and symbolized by eight rubies.
• In 2019, the IPL Brand was valued at INR 475 billion (USD 6.7 billion).
• The IPL teams conduct auctions to recruit new players. More fun than national selections it ensures every player gets his worth.
• The current IPL title holders are the winners of 2019, T20 tournament – Mumbai Indians.
• The IPL is the most attended cricket league in the world. In 2014 it ranked sixth by average attendance among all sports leagues.
• 60% of the tournament’s income comes from its sponsors. 50% of the total sponsorship revenue is distributed among all the franchises.
• 60% of the broadcasting rights revenue is distributed among franchises by the BCCI. Star India currently holds the rights which is worth INR 16,347.5 crores.
• As per BCCI, the 2015 IPL season contributed INR 11.5 billion (USD 160 million) to India’s GDP.
• Royal Challengers Bangalore holds the record for the highest (263/5 against the Pune Warriors India in the 2013 IPL) and lowest totals (49 runs all-out against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2017).
• Chris Gayle is called the ‘King of IPL’ having scored 326 sixes.
• Rajat Bhatia with 95 appearances has the most matches in the IPL among the “Uncapped” players. Has represented teams Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, and Rising Pune Supergiant.
• The only player from a losing team to have won the title ‘Man of the Match’ is Anil Kumble of Royal Challengers.
• In the history of IPL only two Indian players Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli have won the Most Valuable Player award. The Aussies won 4 times – Shane Watson (twice), Adam Gilchrist and Glenn Maxwell.
• In 2020, Super Kings topped the Fan Score with an overall 4.83, while Mumbai was second with 3.27, and Knight Riders came third with 2.89.

The Teams

1. Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Chennai Super Kings is the franchise cricket team from Chennai, Tamil Nadu led by everyone’s favorite MS Dhoni the Captain. The prominent players include Suresh Raina (Vice Captain), Francois du Plessis, Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Watson, Harbhajan Singh, and Kedar Jadhav. Suresh Raina holds the record for most runs (5369), Most centuries (2) and Harbajan for most wickets taken (150). The team has won 3 IPL Titles (2010, 2011 and 2018) and been 4-time Runners Up. The team owner is N. Srinivasan (India Cements) and the principal team partner is Muthoot Group. Their other sponsors include SEVEN, Gulf Lubricants, CT Fibernet, NOVA, Hello FM among other merchandise sponsors. Chennai Super Kings was banned for two years, i.e. 2016 and 2017 seasons for the betting activities indulged into by one of its key officials, Gurunath Meiyappan.

2. Delhi Capitals (earlier called Delhi Daredevils)

Founded in 2008, the team has players like Ricky Pointing and Virender Sehwag. The team is co-owned by Parth Jindal (JSW Group) and Kiran Kumar Gandhi (GMR Group). Sadly, this team is known for being the worst IPL team it has been mostly on the second last or last positions at the Points Table.

3. Kings XI Punjab

The team which hosts its home games at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali is jointly owned by KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited (Preity Zinta), businessman Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman and Karan Paul. They had their most successful season in 2014 finishing at the top of the table with 11 victories out of 14 matches under the captaincy of George Bailey but overall an under-achieved run. The team is led by Ravichandran Ashwin and has moderately good players like KL Rahul (659 runs) and Andrew Tye (24 wickets).

4. Kolkata Knight Riders

A team that that boasts with the biggest fan base is none other than KKR owned by Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Jay Mehta, Red Chillies Entertainment. It has 829K Instagram followers, 91K YouTube subscribers and 4.1M followers on its Facebook page. It is backed by Mukesh Ambani’s Jio as the main sponsor. It is currently led by the wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik. KKR has won two IPL titles (2012 and 2014). Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik are the team’s most prominent players.

5. Mumbai Indians

The top-ranking team Mumbai Indians are the most successful franchise in IPL history with four titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019. They have a huge following On Instagram (4.1 million), on Twitter (5.5 million),  Facebook (13 million), and YouTube (421K subscribers). Who does not know the theme song Duniya Hila Denge. The team boasts of the best bowler and leading wicket-taker in the history of the IPL Lasith Malinga also fondly called ‘teacher’ who helped his ‘pupil’ Jasprit Bumrah become India’s (or probably the world’s) best death bowler. The team is led by Captain Rohit Sharma and owned by Nita Ambani, and Akash Ambani (Reliance Industries).

6. Rajasthan Royals

With the logo of two ‘Rs’ back to back with trumpeting lions on either side it is difficult to miss the royals. This team is co-owned by Misha Hathiramani (44.2%), Manoj Badale (32.4%), Lachlan Murdoch (11.7%), and Shane Warne (3%). When team Captain Steven Smith leads the team in their home ground Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur it looks like a sea of pink swaying to Halla Bol. This year RR signed a deal with the world ‘Expo 2020’, Dubai, to be their title sponsor. However, due to the coronavirus the Expo is now rescheduled and the global mega event will now run from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

7. Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore was founded in 2008 by United Spirits. It has none other than India’s favorite cricketer Virat Kohli, as their Captain. Unluckily, even under such a brilliant cricketer the team has not managed to win a single title in the IPL. Looks like with United Spirits it has lost its spirit too.

8. Sunrisers Hyderabad

Nicknamed SRH, the team was founded in 2012 by Kalanithi Maran, an Indian Media baron. Sunrisers Hyderabad replaced Hyderabad Deccan Chargers in 2012 and played the first T20 in 2013. The team shone in 2016 when the captain David Warner led from the front to clinch the IPL Trophy. But David Warner got entangled in the sandpaper controversy and was forced to step down for Kane Williamson to lead. Popularly known as the “Orange Army”, the team has over a million followers on Facebook and Twitter combined.

Current Governing Council

The following are the members of the IPL Governing Council:

1. Mr. Brijesh Patel, Chairman
2. Mr. Jay Shah, Honorary Secretary, BCCI, Member
3. Mr. Arun Singh Dhumal, Honorary Treasurer, BCCI, Memb
4. Mr. M Khairul Jamal Majumdar, Member
5. Mr. Surender Khanna, Member (ICA representative)
6. Ms. Alka Rehani Bhardwaj, CAG Nominee, Member

What’s new in IPL 2020?

For the 8 franchises competing in IPL 2020, BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly, has announced three new changes,

• For the first time in the history of IPL  concussion substitutes will be introduced at IPL 2020.
• Third-umpire checking front-foot no-balls will be introduced in this thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League. The umpire and use of latest technology will help to decrease the workload of the on-field umpires.
• All-Stars game to be played three days before the inaugural match of IPL 2020 and hereafter to be continued every year before the start of the tournament.

Conclusion

The Indian Premier League (IPL) which is one of the richest T20 leagues in the world, has become a forerunner paving the way for other T20 leagues like the Bangladesh Premier League, Caribbean Premier League, and Big Bash League. T20 is a game played against the best cricketers in the world in packed stadiums being watched by millions on TV in 16 different countries. It has changed the entire cricketing landscape. There is money, there is fame. From cheerleaders, to stars and starlets, anyone can have a moment in the sun. In 2010, the IPL gained the distinction of becoming the first sporting event in the world to be broadcast live on YouTube.

But all that shines is not gold. Over the years, the IPL has faced credibility crisis, with players accused of spot-fixing and owners accused of betting on their team’s matches. But in spite of these allegations, the IPL cricket matches continue to be a favorite sport among Indian public and cricket fans worldwide.

Chai, Cheer, and Cricket continue to live on…

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