Happy Birthday Virat Kohli: 5 captaincy milestones held by Team India superstar that you may not know

Team India ace player Virat Kohli celebrates his 37th birthday on November 5, 2025. He was recently seen playing during the ODI series against Australia, and is currently gearing up for the upcoming home series against South Africa.

In the twilight stage of his career now, the player has more or less achieved everything possible on a cricketing field. His achievements include a glittering captaincy career, where he transformed India into one of the most feared teams across formats during his reign.

On that note, let us take a look at the five captaincy milestones held by Team India superstar that you may not know.

#1 The first Indian captain to win all tosses and matches in a T20I series

Virat Kohli may not boast the most dominant of toss record as he ended up winning only on 85 occasions out of his first 200 matches as skipper, resulting in a dismal percentage of 42.5. However, he had a rare purple patch with the coin during the 2019 T20I series against the West Indies, away from home.

Not only did Kohli end up winning the toss across all three matches, but India also went on to win all three games to record a 3-0 whitewash. He was, at the time, only the second captain after Mahela Jayawardene to achieve the feat (among full members and a minimum of three matches in a series).

Since then, Rohit Sharma also managed to replicate the feat after he won the toss in all three matches in his first-ever assignment as T20I skipper against New Zealand at home. The Men in Blue also secured wins in all three games to register a 3-0 series sweep.

#2 Only captain to win a T20I, ODI, and Test series in three different away countries

Kohli was India's all-format captain once MS Dhoni handed over the ODI and T20I captaincy duties in early 2017. What followed was a dominant five-year period, especially in bilaterals both home and away. It was during this run that he attained a rare record. He became the first-ever captain to lead the team to wins in series across all formats in three different countries.

Virat Kohli has a series win across all formats in Australia, West Indies, and Sri Lanka. He led India to the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, recorded a 2-1 ODI series win in 2018-19, and a 2-1 T20I series win in 2020-21. He boasts similar records in the other two nations as well to record a rare achievement.

#3 First-ever player to captain India to a win on his birthday

Four years ago, on Virat Kohli's 33rd birthday, he became the first-ever Indian captain to guide the team to a win on such an occasion. On November 5, 2021, India faced Scotland in the group stages of the 2021 T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Stadium.

Kohli ended up unbeaten on 2 as the Men in Blue recorded a convincing eight-wicket win more than 13 overs to spare. It also marked the penultimate T20I match that he ever captained as he stepped down from the role after India's win over Namibia, which also sealed the team's elimination.

Recently, current India skipper Suryakumar Yadav replicated the feat after India defeated Pakistan in the group stages of the 2025 Asia Cup on September 14, 2025, also the ace batter's 35th birthday.

#4 Virat Kohli is the only player to be captain of ICC's Test team of the year three times in a row

The ace batter has been a constant feature in the ICC Awards over the course of his career. Among his plethora of nominations and wins, his brilliant captaincy also got a deserved mention. He was named in ICC's Test Team of the Year, three years in a row from 2017.

But Kohli was also named as captain across all three years, making him the first player to achieve the feat. Other prominent leaders like MS Dhoni, Ricky Ponting, and Alastair Cook have managed the feat two times in a row, but Kohli remains the only player to make it a three-peat.

#5 India have bowled out opponents for under 200 a total of 49 times in Tests under Kohli

Another unique captaincy record that Virat Kohli holds is the fact that during his reign, India bowled out their opponents for a score of below 200, a total of 49 times. No other captain has managed the feat to this extent, with South Africa skipper Graeme Smith coming second on the list with 48 instances, while other legendary captains, Peter May, Clive Lloyd, and Ricky Ponting, recorded 40, 39, and 36 instances respectively.

A combination of India's prowess at home on rank turners, coupled with the evolution of the pace bowling attack, to present a challenge away from home, led to the team picking up 20 wickets more consistently, and making the most of conditions to reduce opponents to a paltry total.

Virat Kohli's Test captaincy may have begun with a high-scoring affair, but the progress, especially from the bowling point of view, was evident. The very first instance where Virat Kohli-led Team India bowled an opponent for under 200 was during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2015, where they were bowled out for 183.

The last instance, on the other hand, came during his final Test series as captain. India managed to bowl out South Africa for 197 in the first innings of the 2021-22 Boxing Day Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

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Edited by Gokul Nair