Early life

Virat Kohli was born on 5 November 1988 in Delhi. His father, Prem Kohli, worked as a criminal lawyer and his mother, Saroj Kohli, is a housewife.[9] He has an elder brother, Vikash, and an elder sister, Bhavna.[10] According to his family, when he was three-years old, Kohli would pick up a cricket bat, start swinging it and ask his father to bowl at him.[11]

Kohli was raised in Uttam Nagar[12] and started his schooling at Vishal Bharti Public School. In 1998, the West Delhi Cricket Academy was created, and Kohli, a nine-year-old, was part of its first intake.[12] Kohli’s father took him to the academy after their neighbors suggested that “Virat shouldn’t waste his time in gully cricket and instead join a professional club”.[9]Kohli trained at the academy under Rajkumar Sharma and also played matches at the Sumit Dogra Academy near Noida at the same time.[12] In ninth grade, he shifted to Savier Convent in Paschim Vihar to help his cricket practice.[9] Apart from sports, Kohli was good at academics as well, and his teachers remember him as “a bright and alert child”.[13]

Kohli’s father died on 18 December 2006 due to brain stroke after being bed-ridden for a month.[9] Regarding his early life, Kohli has said in an interview, “I’ve seen a lot in life. Losing my father at a young age, the family business not doing too well, staying in a rented place. There were tough times for the family… It’s all embedded in my memory.”[14] According to Kohli, his father supported his cricket training during his childhood, “My father was my biggest support. He was the one who drove me to practice everyday. I miss his presence sometimes.”[15]

Youth and domestic career

Kohli first played for Delhi Under-15 team in October 2002 in the 2002–03 Polly Umrigar Trophy.[16] He was the leading run-getter for his team in that tournament with 172 runs at an average of 34.40.[17] He became the captain of the team for the 2003–04 Polly Umrigar Trophy[18] and scored 390 runs in 5 innings at an average of 78 including two centuries and two fifties.[19] In late-2004, he was selected in the Delhi Under-17 team for the 2003–04 Vijay Merchant Trophy. He scored 470 runs in four matches at an average of 117.50 with two hundreds and top-score of 251*.[20] Delhi Under-17s won the 2004–05 Vijay Merchant Trophy in which Kohli finished as the highest run-scorer with 757 runs from 7 matches at an average of 84.11 with two centuries.[21] In February 2006, he made his List A debut for Delhiagainst Services but did not get to bat.[22]

In July 2006, Kohli was selected in the India Under-19 squad on its tour of England. He averaged 105 in the three-match ODI series against England Under-19s[23] and 49 in the three-match Test series.[24] India Under-19 went on to win both the series. At the conclusion of the tour, the India Under-19 coach Lalchand Rajput was impressed with Kohli and said, “Kohli showed strong technical skills against both pace and spin”.[25] In September, the India Under-19 team toured Pakistan. Kohli averaged 58 in the Test series[26] and 41.66 in the ODI series against Pakistan Under-19s.[27] In October, playing for Delhi Under-19s, he averaged 15 in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy[28] and 72.66 in the Cooch Behar Trophy.[29] He was then picked in the North Zone Under-19 squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy in which he averaged 28 in two matches.[30]

“The way I approached the game changed that day. I just had one thing in my mind – that I have to play for my country and live that dream for my dad.”

“
”

— Kohli on his innings against Karnataka.[31]

Kohli made his first-class debut for Delhi against Tamil Nadu in November 2006, at the age of 18, and scored 10 in his debut innings. He came into the spotlight in December when he decided to play for his team against Karnataka on the day after his father’s death and went on to score 90.[32] He went directly to the funeral after he was dismissed. Delhi captainMithun Manhas said, “That is an act of great commitment to the team and his innings turned out to be crucial. Hats off to his attitude and determination.”[33] His mother noted that “Virat changed a bit after that day. Overnight he became a much more matured person. He took every match seriously. He hated being on the bench. It’s as if his life hinged totally on cricket after that day. Now, he looked like he was chasing his father’s dream which was his own too.”[9] He scored a total of 257 runs from 6 matches at an average of 36.71 in that season.[34]

In April 2007, he made his Twenty20 debut and finished as the highest run-getter for his team in the Inter-State T20 Championship with 179 runs at an average of 35.80.[35] In July–August 2007, the India Under-19 team toured Sri Lanka. In the triangular series against Sri Lanka Under-19s and Bangladesh Under-19s, Kohli was the second highest run-getter with 146 runs from 5 matches.[36] In the two-match Test series that followed, he scored 244 runs at an average of 122 including a hundred and a fifty.[37]

“He is a very physical type of player. He likes to impose himself on the game, backs it up with his skill.”

“
”

— India’s coach at the 2008 Under-19 World Cup Dav Whatmore on Kohli.[31]

In February–March 2008, Kohli captained the victorious Indian team at the 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia. Batting at number 4, he scored 235 runs in 6 matches at an average of 47, and finished as the tournament’s third highest run-getter and one of the three batsmen to score a hundred in the tournament.[38] His century (100 runs from 74 balls) against the West Indies Under-19s in the group stage, which was called “the innings of the tournament” by ESPNcricinfo,[39] gave India a 50-run victory and earned Kohli the man of the match. Kohli picked up a leg injury during the match, but recovered in time to play the quarterfinal match against England Under-19s.[40] He was instrumental in India’s three-wicket semifinal win over New Zealand Under-19s in which he took 2/27 and scored 43 in the tense run-chase and was awarded the man of the match.[41] He scored 19 againstSouth Africa Under-19s in the final which India won by 12 runs (D/L method). ESPNcricinfocommended him for making several tactical bowling changes during the tournament.[39]

Following the Under-19 World Cup, Kohli was bought by the Indian Premier Leaguefranchise Royal Challengers Bangalore for $30,000 on a youth contract.[42] In June 2008, Kohli and his Under-19 teammates Pradeep Sangwan and Tanmay Srivastavawere awarded the Border-Gavaskar scholarship. The scholarship allowed the three players to train for six weeks at Cricket Australia‘s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.[38] In July 2008, he was included in India’s 30-man probable squad for the ICC Champions Trophy which was to be held in Pakistan in September 2008.[43] He was also picked in the India Emerging Players squad for the four-team Emerging Players Tournament in Australia. He was in fine form in that tournament and scored 206 runs in six matches at an average of 41.20.[44]