Virat Kohli turned 36 on Tuesday and his longtime former India teammate Yuvraj Singh led the way in wishing the former captain on his birthday. Kohli and India may be going through a rough patch at the moment but the fact remains that he is one of the faces of the sport in the country. The keyword "Virat Kohli" was a top trend on Google on Tuesday as fans flooded the internet with wishes to celebrate his birthday. There were over 50,000 searches, with searches peaking shortly after midnight. Other related keywords that people Googled included "Virat birthday", "Virat Kohli birthday photos" and "Anushka Sharma".
Yuvraj was among the seniors in the Indian team when Kohli made his international debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka in August 2008. He went on to play 11 ODIs and three T20Is under Kohli's captaincy in 2017. "Wishing you a very Happy Birthday #KingKohli! The greatest comebacks emerge from our setbacks and the world eagerly looks forward to your solid comeback. You’ve done it in the past and I’m sure you will do it yet again. God bless! lots of love @imVkohli," said Yuvraj in a post on his social media handles for Kohli.
Yuvraj was not the only cricketer to wish Kohli. Here are some other tweets from the larger cricketing community.
Kohli has cemented himself position as one of the greatest cricketers of all time in an illustrious 15-year career. He broke Sachin Tendulkar's record for most centuries in ODI cricket and became the first to get to 50 tons in the format during the 2023 World Cup. He has 50 centuries and 72 half-centuries in the format and has scored 13,906 runs at an average of a whopping 58.18 in 295 matches. He has played 118 Tests and scored 9040 runs at an average of 47.83 with 29 centuries nad 31 half-centuries. Kohli also scored 4188 runs in 125 T20Is at an average of 48.69 and strike rate of 137.04 with a century and 38 half-centuries.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli has cemented himself position as one of the greatest cricketers of all time in an illustrious 15-year career. He broke Sachin Tendulkar's record for most centuries in ODI cricket and became the first to get to 50 tons in the format during the 2023 World Cup. He has 50 centuries and 72 half-centuries in the format and has scored 13,906 runs at an average of a whopping 58.18 in 295 matches. He has played 118 Tests and scored 9040 runs at an average of 47.83 with 29 centuries nad 31 half-centuries. Kohli also scored 4188 runs in 125 T20Is at an average of 48.69 and strike rate of 137.04 with a century and 38 half-centuries.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli has won the 2011 World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup. As captain, he led India to the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy and the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup. His biggest achievement as skipper comes in Test cricket, where Kohli is credited with establishing India's virtual invincibility at home and leading their transformation into a stroung touring side across formats. Kohli led India to victory in the 2018/19 Test series against Australia, making them the first Asian side to win a Test series Down Under.