Happy birthday, Virat Kohli – RCB’s Mr. Terrific for an eternity

The world of sports has seen a handful of athletes who have aged like fine wine, performing at a level far beyond comprehensible.

The list includes the likes of the iconic Tom Brady, LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Fernando Alonso and names that would simply inspire generations to follow. One common thing about this list is that everyone who has played the sport for long is the perseverance for brilliance.

Today is the day when another name on the list of these legends turns 38 and he is none other than Virat Kohli. The man who has lived it all and continues to fly high, way above the league of extraordinary gentlemen, Virat Kohli has been a major driving force for everyone who has been around him. That is the aura of the former Indian captain.

A lot has been said about his past and possibly no matter how much more is being said, it would still sound like music to one’s ears. But this birthday, we delve into Kohli’s present. The last two years that he has been a part of cricket, he has completely reinvented himself. Brilliance with the bat comes naturally to Virat Kohli but there has been something else about the man in 2025 and 2026.

In the last couple of years, Virat has been a part of domestic cricket to a certain extent while playing the IPL and ODIs at a top-tier level. In the last couple of years until this day, Kohli has been a part of 23 ODIs collectively. Last year, he played 13 ODIs, scoring 651 runs at an average of 65.10. Out of the 13 innings that he batted in, he smashed three tons and four fifties. Another incredible thing about the numbers is that he scored them at a steady strike rate of 96.15.

Come 2026, he simply switched on a different version of him. Always talking at the post-match presentations about being in a different headspace, Kohli’s fluidity in the year has been noteworthy. From his strokeplay to control, VK has been in absolute command of his conduct on the pitch. He has been a part of 10 innings so far, amassing 626 runs.

Averaging a stunning 69.55, Kohli has also upped the scoring rate, taking it to 120.61. He has already clobbered a couple of centuries while racking up four fifties. In fact, such has been his dominance, that he got off to a rollicking start against New Zealand a day prior to his birthday, braving swinging and bouncy conditions in a heartbeat.

Now that is just the international echelons. When we turn our eyes towards the Indian Premier League, he has certainly been RCB’s ace batter. However, those numbers that he has racked up in the span of the last four years, it will possibly be an unparalleled feat. In IPL 2022, Kohli amassed 341 runs, which passes off as a more or less decent season for most of the batters in the tournament.

However, for VK, the man who has garnered 9336 runs in a span of 283 IPL matches, that number feels modest. So he decided that he will go all in for the next season. Kohli bounced back in the strongest of ways, smashing 639 runs in IPL 2023. He turned on the knob further, hammering 741 runs in IPL 2024. Then came 2025, RCB’s first title-winning year and Kohli made a few changes to his approach.

He smashed 657 runs at a strike rate of 144.71. Come 2026, Kohli was unstoppable, ruthless and in a word a destructor. He rocked 675 runs at a strike rate of 165.84, clobbering a century and four fifties. IPL 2016 was different for him. He was beyond the league of anyone and everyone. However, the last four years, it is about consistency for the King.

And for the first time in his IPL career, has Kohli scored more than 600 runs in four consecutive years. Now these numbers possibly get amplified when one takes into account that he is playing T20s and he is up at a very critical juncture of the game where the opposition gets to throw someone at him with the new ball.

The numbers are simply an extension of the magic that he has created on the pitch. But it is that aura of dominance with which he has been playing off late is something to worry for the bowlers. He has been incredibly bold in terms of his strokeplay and every time the team has needed him to step up his shots or possibly reduce the intensity, he has happily obliged.

On his 38th birthday, we simply wish that he goes on and on and on. It is not just about dominating a game for him anymore. To watch him bat is to see an artist put brushes to his canvas. He is not keen on creating a magnum opus anymore. He has been doing that for years.

He is now keen on redefining the contours of art and grace on the 22 yards. Kohli is all about enjoying the game now and that makes him a fearsome force for any opposition standing at the other end. Happy birthday, Virat Kohli. Keep on enjoying your game like you always do.