On This Day: Kohli Announces Himself On International Stage With ODI Debut

AUG 18, NEW DELHI: He must have broken a dozen records, but on this day 12 years ago, star Indian batsman Virat Kohli announced himself on the international stage and soon set the marker of modern-day batsmanship to become one of the greats of the game.

In Dambulla on August 18, 2008, Kohli made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka and was sent to open the batting with state mate Gautam Gambhir. A chubby Kohli had led India to U-19 World Cup glory in the same year and came in with a reputation of someone who bats well.

However, he managed just 12 runs as India lost the match by eight wickets in a forgettable outing under skipper MS Dhoni.

"On this day in 2008, a young @imVkohli donned the #TeamIndia jersey for the first time and as they say the rest is history. Here's congratulating #TeamIndia Captain on #12YearsOfVirat," the BCCI post read on Twitter on Tuesday.

It was only after 14 games that Kohli could reach the three-figure mark when he scored 109 against Sri Lanka at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2009.

From there on, there was no looking back for the right-hander -- blessed with immaculate timing and peerless fighting spirit -- as he gun down totals like having eggs for breakfast.

Now, Kohli has 43 ODI centuries to his name, apart from 27 tons in Test cricket. The India captain has surpassed the 11,000-run mark in the ODIs and has an average of 59.33.

A 2011 World Cup winner with India under Dhoni, Kohli is yet to win any ICC trophy as skipper and that is something that he would want to add to his cupboard.

The 31-year-old will be seen in action next when he leads Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 13the edition of the Indian Premier League, slated to take place in the UAE from September 19. With RCB, Kohli is yet to win an IPL title too and that is one record the talismanic batsman would want to set right.