Nobody Looked At Virat Kohli As "Quintessential T20 Batter" Before 2016 IPL: Ex-India Star

Virat Kohli will forever be remembered for his incredible achievements in the IPL since the league began in 2008, given his presence at every tournament and his rise from an unheralded 19-year-old to arguably the greatest batter in the history of the tournament. With the 2023 IPL season just a few days away, experts Aakash Chopra, Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan, got together in an episode of 'Insiders Preview - Virat Kohli' on Jio Cinema to discuss the achievements and expectations from the highest run-getter in IPL history, Kohli.

Kohli had solidified his name as one of the greatest batters in the history of the tournament during his incredible 2016 season, which Aakash Chopra believes led the batting icon to redefine what batting in T20 cricket is. Kohli scored 973 runs in that edition, the highest ever in a single edition, in the tournament's illustrious history.

"If you looked at Virat Kohli the batter before that, you knew he could get you runs but nobody looked at him as a quintessential rockstar T20 batter. He was more of a collector, grafter, maybe he would hit boundaries, but very rarely would you see him take the aerial route and hit five sixes in ten balls. He was not that kind of a player. Virat Kohli redefined the batting in T20 cricket in that particular season. He proved that you can play T20 cricket with proper technique, even with that, not one or two, but he scored four centuries. That season was just phenomenal, he was a man possessed," said Chopra.

The former India captain got his start in the IPL with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their inaugural season and played in the very first IPL match contested between RCB and the Kolkata Knight Riders and from there has gone on to become the player with