Virat-Kohli-IPL

Virat Kohli: Fitness, Charity, Controversies & Net Worth

If you are an admirer of cricket, you must have heard the name of Virat Kohli.

Virat Kohli is an Indian international cricketer and the captain of the Indian National Cricket Team.

Regarded as one of the best batsmen globally, Virat plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. Virat is also the captain of the team.

Captain-RCB
Captain of Royal Challenger Bangalore, Virat Kohli

Moreover, Virat is also the most followed cricketer on Instagram, with a huge fan base of over 118 million.

Virat owns various franchise teams and brands, which makes him the third richest cricketer in the world.

After Virat got selected in the Indian Cricket Team, he was pranked by senior cricketers like Yuvraj Sing. They made him touch Sachin Tendulkar’s feet.

Let’s get started with the article to find out more about the celebrity cricketer.

Quick Facts

Here are some quick facts about Virat Kohli to get you started.

Full Name  Virat Kohli
Nickname Chikoo
Birth Date  5th November of 1988
Birth Place  Delhi, India
Age 35 Years Old
Zodiac Sign Scorpio
Religion  Hindu
Nationality  Indian
Education  Vishal Bharti Public School, Saviour Convent Senior Secondary School
Father’s Name  Late Prem Kohli
Mother’s Name  Saroj Kohli
Siblings 2; Bhawna Kohli (elder sister), Vikas Kohli (elder brother)
Marital Status  Married
Wife Anushka Sharma
Child  1; Vamika (daughter)
Height  5 feet 9 inches
Weight  69 kg
Eye Color  Dark Brown
Hair Color  Black
Profession  Cricketer (Batsmen)
Associated Team (s) Indian Cricket Team, Delhi, Royal Challengers Bangalore
Jersey Number 18
Batting Right-handed
Bowling Right-arm medium
International Debut ODI – 18th August 2008, Test- 20th June 2011, T20- 12th June 2010
Net Worth  $95 million
Annual Salary $2.3 million
Favorite Food Salmon, Lamb Chops
Social Media  TwitterInstagramFacebook
Merch Poster, Virat Kohli: 7 Life-Changing Lessons
Last Update 2024

Virat Kohli: Body, Height, and Personality

Kohli has a lean physique and stands tall at 5 feet 9 inches. He weighs around 69kg.

Talking about his personality, Virat is aggressive but focused on the field. However, many see him as arrogant on the field.

Off-field, Virat is a soft-spoken person and has a gentlemanly personality.

Superstition

Virat is superstitious on the field. He wears a black wristband and puts on the same pair of gloves with which he scores best.

Virat Kohli: Fitness and Diet

Kohli takes good care of his health as he knows being fit is crucial for his profession.

Virat recalls his eating habits and his lazy nature and adds, “My training was horrible, I ate so badly, I was up until late for hours, I was having a drink or two regularly.”

The Punjabi habits don’t get off easily.

Fitness

He changed his overall fitness routine along with his diet to become the best.

Virat is in the gym five days a week.

Fit-Virat
Virat is a fitness freak!

He, however, keeps his workout simple with compound movements like deadlifts, squats, etc.

Virat starts by sprinting and doing some cardio exercises.

Diet

Virat loves nothing more than a fresh home-cooked meal.

He has restricted all kinds of junk from his diet. He doesn’t even eat his favorite Chole Bhature after his change in diet.

Kohli’s meals are high in protein which is required in his field.

However, Kohli has switched to a vegetarian diet. He was diagnosed with a cervical spine issue caused by high uric acid.

Virat’s diet is 90% free from animal protein and dairy.

After turning into a vegetarian, Virat feels sharper, faster, and fitter than ever before.

<<Rohit Sharma: Career, Wife, Philanthropist & Net Worth>>

Virat Kohli: Childhood and Early Life

Virat was born on 5th November of 1988 in Delhi, India, to a Punjabi Hindu family.

His father, Prem Kohli, was a criminal lawyer, while his mother, Saroj Kohli, is a homemaker.

Virat is the youngest child and has an elder sister named Bhawna Kohli and an elder brother, Vikas Kohli.

Childhood

Growing up with two siblings, Virat was interested in cricket from the early age of three.

He used to play cricket with his father, and that is when cricket caught up to him.

Kohli’s father enrolled him at the West Delhi Cricket Academy when Virat was nine.

Early Life

Virat trained and also played matches at the Sumit Dogra Academy.

Moreover, Virat started his education at Vishal Bharti Public School but shifted to Saviour Convent to help his cricket practice.

Kohli was a bright child who was also good at academics.

Sadly, his father died in 2006 due to a stroke. Virat’s father supported his cricket training.

Kohli dedicates his success to his father.

Virat Kohli: Relationships and Affairs

Kohli broke the hearts of many when he got married to Anushka Sharma in 2017 in a small ceremony in Florence, Italy.

In a recent interview, Virat revealed that he went on a blind date, but it lasted only five minutes.

Further, the handsome player revealed the reason behind the shortest date, saying, “She was ugly … I am sorry she was ugly.”

However, he was once an eligible bachelor who dated some beautiful girls.

Girlfriends

Before Virat was famous, he dated the Kannada actress, Sanjjanaa. It was, however, a short affair.

Virat then dated the Bollywood actress Tamannah Bhatia in 2012.

The duo apparently met each other in an ad shoot for a popular smartphone brand. The rumor soon ended.

Virat then ended up dating Brazillian model, Izabelle Leite. The relationship was pretty serious.

However, the couple was together for almost two years before they broke up.

Marriage

Virat met Anushka in a ‘Head and Shoulders’ commercial in 2013. They quickly started dating and later tied the knot in 2017.

Virat-and-Anushka-Virushka
Virushka with their expecting baby. Source: The Tribune

The famous couple also goes by the name “Virushka.”

On January 11, 2021, the couple welcomed a daughter, Vamika.

Career

Virat started playing cricket at an early age and was also enrolled in an academy.

The early years

However, Kohli played for the Delhi U-15 team in October 2002. He was able to score 172 runs in the tournament, becoming the leading run-scorer.

Virat was promoted to captain the following year.

He was then selected in the Delhi U-17 team, and the team won the 2004-05 Vijay Merchant Trophy.

Kohli finished as the highest run-scorer again with 757 runs in 7 matches.

Stairs to success

Success started knocking on Kohli’s door when he was selected in the U-19 Indian squad on its tour of England in 2006.

At the end of the tour, coach Lalchand Rajput was impressed with Kohli. He then joined the U-19 Indian squad for the Pakistan Tour too.

In July 2007, the Indian U-19 Team toured Sri Lanka. In the series, Kohli scored 146 runs in 5 matches and was the second-highest run-scorer.

His run for success didn’t stop. Chikoo then captained the Indian U-19 team at the 2008 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup.

Batting at number 3, he scored an impressive 235 runs in 6 matches and a century against the West Indies U-19 team.

The Kohli-led Indian team went on to win the U-19 World Cup.

International Career

Kohli was selected in the Indian ODI squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. He batted as a makeshift opener in the tour.

It wasn’t easy for Virat to compete with Sachin Tendulkar, Shikhar Dhawan, Sehwag.

However, he was given a Grade D contract by BCCI, which entitled him to Rs. 1.5 million per annum.

Kohli opened the innings in the four-team Emerging Players Tournament in 2009.

He also finished as the leading run-scorer with 398 runs at an average of 66.33.

This tournament turned out to be the turning point of his career.

For a coming World Championship, the former captain of England, Michael Vaughan, said that the New Zealand team would win by a small margin.

Indian Premier League

Royal Challengers Bangalore bought Kohli for $30,000 in 2008.

He played two seasons in RCB before leading as the third-highest run-scorer in RCB in the 2010 IPL.

Kohli was promoted to vice-captain for the 2011 season. RCB finished as the runner-up of the tournament.

However, after captain Vettori’s retirement, Kohli was pushed to the captainship for the 2013 IPL.

Kohli finished the season as the third-highest run-scorer with a total of 634 runs.

Virat also became only the second player to reach 5000 IPL runs after Suresh Raina.

He achieved this record on 28th March 2019.

In the recent IPL, the player was dismissed along with Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers by Harpreet in a single match.

You may want to read about Jasprit Bumarah.

Virat Kohli: Achievements

Kohli is one of the best cricketers, not only in India but in the world. It’s an obvious fact that Virat has achieved a lot in the cricketing world.

Virat Kohli captained the Indian U-19 Cricket Team to victory in the 2008 ICC U-19 World Cup.

At 23, the batsman was in the Indian squad, which won the 2011 ICC World Cup.

Moreover, he also debuted in the test at the same age against West Indies.

In 2012, Virat was named the vice-captain of the Indian ODI team. He was only 24.

The same year, Virat received the ICC ODI Player of the Year award after a fantastic season.

Virat was eventually promoted to captain of the Indian ODI team in 2017.

Some of the national honors received by Virat are the 2013 Arjuna Award, 2017 Padma Shri, and the 2018 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

Net Worth

Kohli is the third wealthiest cricketer in the world after Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni.

The handsome batsman’s net worth is estimated to be around INR 694 Crore ($95 million approx.)

Moreover, being one of the most handsome players on the field, Virat has also attracted various sponsorship deals.

Sponsorship and Endorsements

Virat signed an eight-year deal with Puma worth around INR 1.1 Billion ($15 million).

A UK-based magazine SportsPro rated Virat Kohli as the second most marketable athlete globally, sitting above the mighty Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Usain Bolt.

Kohli is also the brand ambassador and a stakeholder of the London-based networking venture ‘Sports Convo.’

In 2014, Virat launched the fashion brand WROGN. The brand specializes in men’s casual wear and also has ties with Myntra.

Moreover, Virat also co-owns a chain of gyms that goes by the name Chisel.

The Chinese brand Vivo signed Kohli as their brand ambassador in 2021.

Franchise Owner

Talking about his business ventures, Virat also owns a team in the ISL.

Virat bought FC Goa in 2014, stating that his second favorite sport was football.

Following ISL, Virat also became the co-owner of the UAE Royals franchise in the International Premier Tennis League.

He also co-owned Bengaluru Yodhas of the Indian Pro Wrestling League.

Virat Kohli: Controversies

Virat is regarded as one of the finest cricketers of the 21st century. He has also been leading the Indian ODI team to success and has impressed one and all.

However, being famous comes with some controversies too. Virat is an aggressive player on the field, which pulls him into several controversies.

Media Clashes and Gestures

Virat lashes out at reporters whenever the media goes after his wife, Anushka Sharma.

Kohli is an aggressive batsman on the field. His aggressiveness brings out different facial expressions and gestures, which the fans or the officials do not always appreciate.

A similar episode occurred in 2011 when India was playing against Australia.

Kohli was positioned near the boundary line when the crowd started mocking him with some vulgar comments.

He couldn’t control his emotions and showed a middle finger back to the crowd. However, Kohli was fined heavily for his unprofessional behavior.

Disagreement with Anil Kumble

Virat also disagreed with then Indian Cricket Team coach Anil Kumble.

The Indian team played Australia in a Test series. Kumble bought in Kuldeep Yadav, but Virat challenged the decision.

India won the game, but the disagreement between Kumble and Kohli had created a void in the Indian squad.

Virat refused to work with Kumble, and eventually, Kumble decided not to renew his contract with the Indian Team.

Charity Works

Virat started a charity foundation named Virat Kohli Foundation in 2013.

The organization helps underprivileged kids and conducts various events to raise funds.

VKF works with several NGOs to create awareness, support, and raise funds for various causes.

Kohli also captained the All Heart Football Club, owned by VKF, in a charity football match against the All-Stars Football Club. It raised funds for several different causes.

Fight against COVID-19

Virushka started the #InThisTogether campaign partnering with a crowd-funding platform Ketto to support the fight against COVID-19.

The duo donated two crores to the campaign and received around five crores from the MPL foundation.

Covid-Vaccine-Virat
Kohli, after getting vaccinated. Source: ESPN

The second wave has hit India hard, with cases increasing rapidly. Therefore, the initiative has been able to raise over Rs 11 crore.

Such campaigns from celebrities, including Virat and Anushka, have been healing the wounds of the Indian population.

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Virat Kohli: Social Media

Virat is a celebrated figure in the world of cricket. But, this popularity extends to social media as well.

Virat became the first cricketer to reach 100 million followers on Instagram.

Kohli is ranked number six for the most followed athletes in the world. Cristiano Ronaldo leads the list with 266 million followers.

Moreover, Kohli also has over 40.8 million followers on Twitter.

Similarly, Virat is also very popular among Facebook users, with 36 million likes on his profile.

FAQs

Did Virat Kohli get COVID Vaccine?

Virat Kohli got his first dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine on May 10, 2021.

He posted a story on his Instagram handle and also urged everyone to vaccinate as soon as possible.

Who nicknamed Virat Kohli as Chikoo?

Former Delhi coach Ajit Chaudhary nicknamed Virat as Chikoo when he joined the Delhi Ranji team.

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