Sandeep Sharma tops list of bowlers who dismissed Virat Kohli the most in T20 cricket

It is not everyday that a bowler can easily trouble Virat Kohli. The 32-year-old, who made his T20 debut in 2007 against Himachal Pradesh, has aggregated 9,929 T20 runs and is in line to become the first Indian to 10,000 runs in the 20-overs format as he returns to represent Bangalore in the Indian T20 League 2021.

Kohli has amassed 72 half-centuries since his T20 debut, the most by an Indian. He has been with Team Bangalore since the inaugural Indian T20 League season in 2008, and has gone on to score 6,076 runs in 199 matches at a strike rate of 130.41.

Kohli, who recently announced that he will soon be stepping down from captaincy for Bangalore and India, will also have fond memories of his 2016 season, where he hit a whopping 973 runs - the highest runs scored in a single Indian T20 League campaign by a batsman.

But, of all the bowlers Kohli has faced in the T20 format, eight bowlers - of which five are from the Indian T20 League - have managed to dismiss the batting legend on four or more occasions.

Here, we take a look at those bowlers who have managed to get the better of Virat Kohli on multiple occasions in cricket’s shortest format.

Bowlers who dismissed Virat Kohli the most in T20 cricket

Sandeep Sharma has dismissed Virat Kohli seven times in T20 cricket, and is one of two pacers with Ashok Dinda to dismiss the Bangalore captain twice in a single Indian T20 League edition.

Moreover, Kohli does not have a favorable record against Sharma, scoring just 73 runs at an average of 10.43.

In his stint with Punjab (2013-2017), Sandeep Sharma took Virat Kohli’s wicket five times and then dismissed him twice after switching to Hyderabad. The Indian bowler has bowled the 32-year-old Bangalore skipper out twice, while the other modes of Kohli’s dismissal to him include three catches, one catch behind and one LBW.

Featured photo: AFP / Sajjad Hussain