Virat Kohli has been the backbone of the Indian batting line-up for years now and boasts an enviable record at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Virat Kohli made his T20 World Cup debut in the 2012 edition in Sri Lanka. The former U-19 World Cup-winning captain made an immediate impact, smashing 185 runs in five matches. His performances, particularly the 78-run unbeaten knock against Pakistan, earned him a spot in the Team of the Tournament.
Since his debut, Kohli has played in four editions of the tournament, scoring 845 runs at a staggering average of 76.81 and is only two runs behind Rohit Sharma in the list of leading run-scorers for India in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup history.
The Indian batter is currently the fifth-highest run-scorer in the T20 World Cup. Kohli’s highest score in the tournament came against the West Indies, a swashbuckling knock of 89 runs off 47 balls, in the semi-final of the 2016 edition.
Virat Kohli at T20 World Cup: Records and achievements
Virat Kohli, who was India’s captain in the 2021 edition, holds the record for amassing the most runs in a single edition of the T20 World Cup. Kohli registered 319 runs in the 2014 edition in only six matches. His tally included four half-centuries,
The Indian ace’s knock of 72 runs against South Africa in the semi-final was one of the best in the tournament. Kohli also smashed a half-century in the final, but it went in vain as India suffered a defeat to Sri Lanka and ended as runners-up.
Virat Kohli also holds the record for the most 50+ scores in the ICC World Twenty20. In only 19 innings, Kohli has scored 10 half-centuries. He is followed by Chris Gayle (9), Rohit Sharma (8) and Mahela Jayawardene (7), all of whom have all played at least 11 more innings in the tournament than Kohli.
The former Indian T20 captain made two 50+ scores in his debut edition in 2012. The T20 World Cup 2014 was when Kohli made four half-centuries, his most in a single edition. Following his three fifties in the 2016 edition in India, including a memorable innings against Australia, Kohli could only add another half-century in the 2021 edition.
Virat Kohli’s staggering average of 76.81 across four editions is the highest average by a batter in the T20 World Cup for players having batted in 10 or more innings. Australian Michael Hussey’s average of 54.62 is the second-best in the tournament.
Kohli is the only cricketer in T20 World Cup history to win successive Player of the Tournament awards. He won awards in the 2014 and 2016 editions of the tournament.
While Kohli failed to live up to his usual high standards in the 2021 edition, the former India captain seems to have found his form back heading into the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia and will look at consolidating his records set further in the upcoming editions.
Virat Kohli at the T20 World Cup: Runs in each edition
| T20 World Cup | Innings | Runs | 50+ scores | Highest score |
| 2012 | 5 | 185 | 2 | 78* |
| 2014 | 6 | 319 | 4 | 77 |
| 2016 | 5 | 273 | 3 | 89* |
| 2021 | 3 | 68 | 1 | 57 |