From Being The Wanker to Becoming The King; How Australia Shaped Virat Kohli

Ind vs Aus: With much-speculation around his ODI future, Virat Kohli would be walking out on an Australian venue to play for probably the last time in his life. At Adelaide, despite registering a rare duck, Kohli got a standing ovation and now that he gets ready to play his final game in the country, a similar kind of a reception is expected. Kohli is arguably the best cricketer of our times and one of the greats to have played the game. A report claims that the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground has sold out all it's tickets for the game - a testament of Kohli's popularity and stardom in the country. It is safe to say that Kohli is ‘King’ Kohli today because of Australia. The country has played a huge role in shaping him and his illustrious career. 

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The Wanker

Not many would forget Kohli's first tour of Australia way back in 2012. In that tour, he looked clueless with the bat in most games and that got the better of him when he pointed the middle-finger to the hostile crowd there. Kohli reacted to the crowd calling him a ‘wanker’. After failing all tour with the bat, Kohli showed glimpses of greatness when he hit 116 in front of a packed house at the Adelaide. 

Kohli Owns Australia

Three seasons later, Kohli was again visiting Australia. By now, he had started to do well across the world as well. Come Australia, and the world got to see the best of Kohli as he hammered 692 runs in four Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests against Australia in 2014-15. The wanker had become a champion! 

Kohli, who has retired from Tests and T20Is, is in Australia for a three-match ODI series. In this series, he had had a torrid run - where he has not been able to score a single run in two outings. Today, he plays at SCG and in all probability his last game on Australian soil. Can he sign off on a high?