Under 19 Career

In July 2006, Kohli was selected for the India Under-19 Cricket squad for their tour of England. In the three-match ODI tour against England Under-19s, he scored at an average of 105 runs. In the three tests that they played on the same tour, Kohli scored at an average of 49 runs. India Under-19 came back a winner of both the series. He even performed remarkably against Pakistan’s U-19 cricket team later that year.

By this time, Virat had become a permanent fixture in the Delhi U-19 team as he showed his quality batsmanship over and over. He made his First Class Debut for Delhi against Tamil Nadu in 2006. He came to spotlight later that year when he continued to play his part in the match against Karnataka even after he’d got the news of his father’s death. He scored 90 runs in that innings and went directly to his father’s funeral from there.

Everyone saw the change in him from then onwards, his sense of responsibility increased and according to his captain, he received a lot of accolades for his attitude and determination.

"The way I approached the game changed that day. I just had one thing in my mind - that I have to play for my country and live that dream for my dad."
— Kohli said on his innings against Karnataka