Virat Kohli - Early Career

Early Career

The West Delhi Cricket Academy was created in 1998 and Kohli was part of its first intake. Kohli first came into the spotlight when he played for Delhi in a Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka on the day of his father's death. Choosing to stay and bat, he went on to score 90 runs. Mithun Manhas, the team's captain, remarked that "That is an act of great commitment to the team and his innings turned out to be crucial".

Kohli captained the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia. Batting at number 4, he scored 235 runs in 6 matches at an average of 47, including a century against the West Indies U-19s. He was also commended for making several tactical bowling changes during the tournament. 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."

Kohli was instrumental in India's win of the 2009 Emerging Players Tournament in Australia. In the final against South Africa, Kohli scored a century and India went on to win the game by 17 runs. Kohli emerged as the leading run scorer of the tournament, aggregating 398 runs from seven matches including two centuries and two fifties.