When Opener Virat Kohli Replaced Virender Sehwag To Earn Indian Shirt

image-llg6ggpzVirat Kohli departed for 12 on his ODI debut (Twitter)

On this day, 15 years ago, the horizon of Indian cricket was graced by a shooting star. Amidst the regular humdrum of balls and boundaries, emerged a player, soon to become synonymous with passion, precision, and unmatched prodigiousness.

A 19-year-old from Delhi named Virat Kohli, with a glimmer in his eye and a sense of purpose in his stride, stepped onto the international circuit. Little did he know that he was on the cusp of scripting a tale that would revolutionize the narrative of Indian cricket.


Kohli era began on this day in 2008

Kohli made his India debut against Sri Lanka at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla. 

The young batter strode out to the middle alongside an experience Gautam Gambhir. However, the southpaw was dismissed for a duck on the very second ball of the innings off Chaminda Vaas' bowling. With Gambhir departing early, all eyes were on the newbie.

Facing the legendary bowler, Kohli firmly defended his first ball back to Vass. On his second ball, attempting a shot he was going to own in the years to come, the right-hander audaciously went for a cover drive, only to be beaten. 

Yet, in typical Kohli fashion, he dusted himself off and notched up his first international run off the very next delivery by pushing the ball towards the deep third man.

Kohli’s debut didn’t last long as his stay at the crease was cut short by Nuwan Kulasekara, who trapped him in front of the wicket for 12 off 22 balls, but it was merely an exordium to the magnum opus of a career that was to follow.


It didn’t take him long to find his groove, scoring his first half-century in the fourth ODI which India won by 46 runs. He finished as the second-highest run-scorer for India in the series with 59 runs in five games at an average of 31.80, behind MS Dhoni (193).

Today, with a galaxy of records to his name, Kohli stands as a juggernaut. With a stunning 12,898 ODI runs and 46 ODI tons, he's only second to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. His Test stats which comprise 8,676 runs and 29 centuries are equally impressive. In T20Is, Kohli has scored 4,008 runs, the most by a player.



Yet, beyond these mind-boggling numbers lies a story of absolute passion, total commitment, and an unending love for the game. Each cover drive, each pull shot, and every flick off his pads tells a tale of a man for whom cricket hasn’t been just a game, but a way of life, especially in the last 15 years.