Modern great Virat Kohli turns 30

As Virat Kohli turns 30, we take a look at his illustrious career so far and how he compares to a selection of other greats at this age

Virat Kohli has made it to 30, and though he has many years left in his career - the half century is now in sight - this is a good opportunity to take stock of what the India captain has achieved so far and how he stacks up against a selection of other modern greats when they were 30.

Kohli made his ODI debut when he was 19, and made his Test debut when he 22. Since then he has scored 16,563 runs in the two formats overall. Once seen as an ODI specialist, he has long left that tag behind as he has amassed 6331 runs at an average of 54.57, including 24 hundreds. He has by no means been slacking off in ODIs though, and he has scored 10,232 runs at a staggering 59.83 with 38 hundreds along with way.

There have been a lot of milestones as well. In 2008 he became the fastest Indian to reach 1000 runs in ODIs, and has since become the fastest Indian to reach 5000, 6000, and 7000 runs in ODI cricket. Going one better in 2017, he became the fastest player in the world to 8000, and then 9000, and most recently 10,000. He was also the fastest Indian to 10, 15, 20, and 25 ODI centuries, before taking the outright lead and becoming the fastest in the world to 30, and then 35.

^{Virat Kohli}

If we compare this against legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and AB De Villiers, it is obvious he is well on his way to establishing himself as one of the greatest players the game has ever seen.

The Little Master had at this age scored 21,030 runs across Tests and ODIs, but he did make his international debut at 16. While Tendulkar's Test record of 8811 at 57.58 is superior to Kohli's, the current captain's ability is emphasised by the fact that the great Tendulkar had scored 34 hundreds at this age - four fewer than Kohli.

Ricky Ponting had scored 13,799 runs - 6377 in Tests at 54.04 in Tests and 7422 at 41.69 in ODIs while AB De Villiers had managed 6966 at 51.98 in Test and 6331 at 49.46 in ODIs. Kohli's numbers show that he not only has the appetite to match the greatest players, but could potentially surpass them in future and reach new heights - particularly in ODI cricket.