A season like no other when Virat Kohli became a legend - 2016 revisited

Akshita Patel

Virat Kohli's peak year [Source: @sayam_ahmad_/X.com]Virat Kohli's peak year [Source: @sayam_ahmad_/X.com]

There are years in cricket history that feel almost mythical when one player transcends the sport itself. For Indian cricket, 2016 belonged to Virat Kohli. 

That was the year a supremely talented batter just transformed into an unimaginable run machine and became an unstoppable force, seeming to rewrite all the rules of modern batting. 

Every innings he played had intent, emotion, and a touch of madness, the kind only Kohli could conjure.

That year, Virat Kohli was not just in form but was in command. He seemed to see the ball earlier, move faster, and think more sharply than anyone else on the field. 

His 2016 wasn’t about one series or one big knock, it was a year-long masterclass across formats, where he scored runs as if cricket had finally found its cheat code.

The Test titan

In Test cricket, Kohli’s transformation from an aggressive talent to a consistent match-winner took full flight. He amassed 1215 runs in 12 Tests, averaging a staggering 75.93, including four centuries and three double hundreds. 

His knocks in the home season against the West Indies and England were clinical, patient when needed, and ruthless when required. 

The double hundreds in Antigua and Indore announced that Virat Kohli had matured into a leader who could dominate the longest format with the same ferocity he brought to limited-overs cricket.

The ODI maestro

In One-Day Internationals, Virat Kohli was India’s heartbeat. He scored 739 runs in just 10 matches at an average of 92.37, with three centuries and four fifties. Every chase seemed scripted for him, cool, calculated, and inevitable. 

His unbeaten 154 against New Zealand in Mohali and 85 not out in Dharamsala were prime examples of his chasing genius. By then, the phrase “Kohli in a chase” had become a guarantee rather than a hope.

The T20I phenomenon

If there was one format where Virat Kohli became superhuman, it was T20 cricket. In 2016, he scored 641 runs in 15 T20Is, averaging an unbelievable 106.83. 

He was dismissed only six times that year. His innings in the T20 World Cup, 55* against Pakistan, 82* against Australia, and 89* in the semifinal against the West Indies, remain etched in memory. 

In those few weeks, Virat Kohli didn’t just bat but carried a billion hopes on his shoulders, unfazed by pressure.

The IPL god mode

Then came the IPL, where Virat Kohli turned fantasy into reality. As the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), he made history with 973 runs in 16 matches with four centuries, a record no other player has come close to since.

He averaged 81.08 with a strike rate of 152.03. Whether it was his 113 against Kings XI Punjab in the rain or his 109* against Gujarat Lions, Kohli batted like a man possessed. 

Every shot was crisp, every celebration fiery. It was as if he were powered by pure passion. 

The year of Virat Kohli ‘the King’

By the end of 2016, Virat Kohli had scored 2595 international runs across formats, the most by any player that year. He was the world’s best across all three formats, the true embodiment of consistency and hunger. 

That year was more than just about statistics. It was about complete trust and commitment to fitness, discipline, and a longing for perfection.

Kohli became the poster boy for the evolution of modern cricket proving beyond doubt that greatness isn’t born overnight but built through obsession.

For Indian fans, 2016 will forever be remembered as the year Virat Kohli turned superhuman. When a cricketer became a phenomenon, the world stood still to watch the King reign supreme.