Cricket has grown immensely in the last couple of decades, and it has become the second-most popular sport among the fans on this planet. And just like every sport has its own heroes, cricket has certainly some of the players who hold a big stature among the fans. “Master Blaster” Sachin Tendulkar, who is widely known as “God of Cricket” for his contribution and achievements in the game.
He has a plethora of records in this game, which earned him the tag of “God of Cricket.” But who can be the next contender of this title after him? India have produced many batting greats, and if we look at some factors, we might see Virat Kohli, who is also known as the “King of Cricket,” can be a suitable candidate to be the next or new God of Cricket. Since making his debut in 2008, he has been on top of everything. So, let’s discuss why Virat Kohli is perfect for this title after Sachin Tendulkar.
| Format | Matches | Runs | HS | Average | 50s | 100s | 200s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 113 | 8,848 | 254* | 49.15 | 30 | 29 | 7 |
| ODI | 295 | 13906 | 183 | 58.18 | 72 | 50 | 0 |
| T20I | 125 | 4,188 | 122* | 48.69 | 38 | 1 | 0 |
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New God of Cricket: Virat Kohli in Tests
Virat Kohli made his Test debut in June 2011 against West Indies in Kingston. He scored 4 and 15 in his first game. It took his seven games to score his first Test hundred, which he did against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2012. He smashed three centuries in the next three games and didn’t look back. That saw the rise of Virat Kohli in Test cricket, and he is one of the best Indian Test batters at the moment. Virat has played 113 Tests and scored 8848 runs at an average of 49.15, with 29 centuries and 30 half-centuries. He holds the record for most double centuries in Tests as captain (7).
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New God of Cricket: Virat Kohli in ODIs
The 50-over format is something where Virat Kohli is a beast, or one can say a run machine. There is no one even close to him when it comes to chasing in ODIs and finishing the game. He is the “Chase Master” in this format. Virat made his debut in August 2018 against Sri Lanka in Dambulla and scored only 12 runs. He scored his first century in his 14th game against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens. After that, he didn’t stop. Then, there was a time when he smashed 8 ODI hundreds in 15 innings in 2017-2018. Virat is only batter with 50 ODI centuries and went past Sachin Tendulkar to achieve this rare record. So far, Virat Kohli has played 295 matches and scored 13906 runs at an average of 58.18 and a strike rate of 93.54, with 50 centuries and 72 half-centuries.
New God of Cricket: Virat Kohli in T20Is
To earn the title of New God of Cricket, you must be brilliant in all three formats, and Virat is the only cricketer who has incredible numbers in all three formats. In T20Is, he made his debut in June 2010 against Zimbabwe in Harare and scored an unbeaten 26 in a winning chase. Though he has retired from T20Is, his stats are still one of the best. The former Indian captain retired as one of the leading scorers. He played 125 T20Is and scored 4188 runs at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of 137.04, with one century and 38 half-centuries. He is the only cricketer to win two Player of the Series awards in T20 World Cup history.
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New God of Cricket, Virat Kohli: Some of the Iconic Records
Fastest 8,000 to 13,000 ODI Runs: The former Indian captain is the fastest batter to reach the multiples of 1000 from 8000 and 13000 ODI runs.
Most ODI Centuries: Virat has scored 50 ODI hundreds, which is most by a batter in the history of the game.
20000 runs in a Decade: Virat Kohli is the only player in history to score 20000 international runs in a decade, which he did between 2010 and 2020.
Fastest to 15000 international runs: The former Indian captain is the fastest to reach 15000 international runs in history. He did it in just 304 matches and is the only batter who has the average of 50 in international cricket among the batters with more than 10,000 runs.
Most 200s as Test Captain: The former Indian captain has seven 200s as Test Captain, which is the most in the history of the game.
Most 100s as Captain: Virat Kohli has also scored joint-most international centuries as captain. 41 out of his 80 hundreds came as captain in just 213 games.
Fourth Most Runs in International Cricket: Virat has scored 26942 runs in 533 matches and is the fourth-most run scorer in international cricket. He is also the leading scorer among active cricketers.
Most runs in ICC white-ball tournaments: Virat holds the record for most runs in the history of ICC events. He has scored a total of 3616 runs in white-ball ICC events, including ODI World Cups, T20 World Cups, and the Champions Trophy.
Most ICC awards: The former Indian captain holds the record for most ICC awards. He has won a total of ten ICC awards. He is a three-time ICC Men’s Cricketer Of The Year winner, a 2018 ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year winner, a four-time ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year winner, an ICC Player of the Decade for 2010-2020, and many more.
Most Player of the Series Awards: Sachin Tendulkar won 20 Player of the Series awards, which was the most in history. But Virat has now won 21 MOTS awards and raised the bar even higher.
