When it comes to the ODIs, ex-India skipper Virat Kohli is the GOAT, and no one really comes close to him when it comes to stats. The fans would have expected him to play in the Nagpur ODI in the IND vs ENG series, but then he wasn’t picked on account of a knee injury, but he should most likely be back for the next match in Cuttack on Sunday.
Virat Kohli – The Best ODI Batter
His record clearly shows, why is a must in the ODI side. In the 295 matches played so far, he has scored 13906 runs at an average of 58, including 50 tons. To put it simply, there isn’t just any criticism against Virat Kohli, as far as his ODI game is concerned. But then, not many might realise — despite his excellent track record, India has done slightly better in the format without him, rather than with him, as per CricTracker.
| M – 295 | W – 180 | L – 100 | T – 6 | Win% – 63.55 |
Virat’s Fans Will Disagree
Yes. That’s exactly what the statistics show. Much to the dismay of his fans, in all the 295 ODIs Virat Kohli has been a part of — India has won 180 matches, lost 100, tied 6, and 9 No results, brining out the win% to 63.55. As supposed to when India is playing without him, in 72 ODIs, the team has emerged victorious in 50, lost only 16, and tied 1, and the win% comes out to be 73.61.
| M -72 | W – 50 | L -16 | T – 1 | Win% – 73.61 |
Even though, in the larger context this piece of stat might be rather useless, since there is no replacement to Kohli, but it can certainly raise the question — as to what goes wrong, if marginally, when he is in the team. If we further break this down, Kohli led the side in 95 matches, won 65, lost 27, and had a win% of 68.
All this aside, he is still a force to reckon with, in the format, and Team India might need his services even in the World Cup 2027, that is still two years away at this point — when the batter would be 38-39.
