Virat Kohli opens up on the toughest bowlers of his career

India’s Veteran batter Virat Kohli revealed the toughest bowlers he faced in all three formats. During an event, Kohli was asked to name the toughest bowlers he had faced in all three formats. In response to this question, Kohli named James Anderson of England in the Test format, Adil Rashid of England in the ODI format, and Sunil Narine of the West Indies in the T20I format.

“(The toughest bowler I’ve faced) In ODIs, it would be Adil Rashid, in Test cricket, it would be James Anderson in England, and in T20s, it would be Sunil Narine,” Kohli said at the RCB innovation lab. 

As Virat Kohli mentioned, England’s former pacer James Anderson was the toughest bowler that he faced in the test format, especially in English conditions. Anderson is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers in cricket history. He took 704 wickets in 188 test matches. The two legends faced each other in 36 innings. Anderson has a great record against Virat Kohli, dismissing him seven times. However, Kohli also likes Anderson’s bowling, scoring runs against him with an average of 43.57.

In ODIs, Adil Rashid has been one of the toughest bowlers Virat has faced. Kohli has faced Rashid in 10 ODI innings so far, and Rashid has dismissed him five times. England’s veteran spinner has taken 242 wickets in 161 matches, including 10 four-wicket hauls and two five-wicket hauls in his ODI career so far. In July, India’s ODI team will tour England for a 3-match series, where fans can once again witness Virat Kohli vs Adil Rashid's epic face-off. 

For the shortest format, Kohli named West Indies’ Sunil Narine. Narine has taken 52 wickets in T20Is and an incredible 626 wickets in 594 T20 matches overall. Narine dismissed Kohli 4 times in 22 innings. 

Virat Kohli needs no introduction today. He is considered one of the greatest batsmen in cricket history, with 9,230 Test runs, 14,797 ODI runs, 4,188 T20I runs, and a record 9,203 IPL runs. He is currently busy in IPL 2026, where he is representing the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. So far, he has scored 542 runs in 13 innings, including 1 century and 4 half-centuries. He will once again be seen in the blue jersey during the ODI series against Afghanistan, commencing on June 14, for which the BCCI has already announced the squad. With this series, the Indian team will kickstart its preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup.