Virat Kohli at 38: The Records That Define a Modern Great

The 2026 IPL title, a fastest-to-28,000 record and 86 international centuries mark a career still adding to its numbers.

Virat Kohli turns 38 on November 5, 2026. Nearly two decades after he led India to the Under-19 World Cup, he is still adding to the record books, with a recent record-breaking IPL season and a place among the game’s greatest run-scorers.

From the Under-19 captaincy to India’s lineup

• 2008: Kohli captained India to the Under-19 World Cup title in Malaysia, then made his senior ODI debut against Sri Lanka that year.
• 2009: His first ODI century, 107 against Sri Lanka in Kolkata.
• 2011: He was part of India’s World Cup-winning squad and made his Test debut against the West Indies.
• 2012: His first Test century came against Australia in Adelaide.
• 2014: Four Test centuries on India’s tour of Australia marked his rise in the longest format.

The numbers across formats

Kohli has 86 international centuries, made up of 30 in Tests, 55 in ODIs and one in T20Is, according to Wikipedia’s list of his centuries. He passed Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI record of 49 hundreds in November 2023. Other sources I found give 54 ODI hundreds, so check the current tally.

In January 2026, he became the fastest batter to 28,000 international runs during the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara, moving past Kumar Sangakkara to second on the all-time list behind Tendulkar. He is also known for his chasing: India TV reported that he leads all batters in runs in successful chases across formats, with more than 9,000 at an average above 82 as of his 2025 birthday.

An IPL legacy

Kohli’s 973 runs in 2016 remain the highest by a batter in a single IPL season, as Outlook has noted. In 2026, he scored 675 runs and became the first player with 600-plus runs in four consecutive IPL seasons, Outlook reported.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru then won a second straight title, beating Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the final on May 31, 2026, with Kohli unbeaten on 75 off 42 balls, including his fastest IPL fifty at 25 balls. RCB became only the third franchise to win back-to-back titles, after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. Kohli has now been with RCB for 19 seasons, as IANS reported.

World Cup runs

Kohli finished as the leading run-scorer at the 2014 T20 World Cup with 319 runs, and topped the charts again in 2016 with 273. He was also named Player of the Tournament at the 2023 ODI World Cup. His trophy cabinet includes the 2011 World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy.

The road ahead

Kohli has retired from Tests and T20 internationals, so his international future is in ODIs. The 2027 ODI World Cup is the next big goal. At 86 centuries, he is 14 short of Tendulkar’s 100, and whether he can close that gap is one of the storylines to watch.

Beyond the figures, his legacy rests on the standards he set for fitness, preparation and intensity, and on a rise from teenage captain to one of the defining cricketers of his era.

Sources: Wikipedia, Free Press Journal, India TV, Outlook, IANS via The Tribune. Statistics as of the dates cited.