The leading run-scorer of the Cricket World Cup, Virat Kohli, is on the verge of creating history when he takes the field on November 19 for the World Cup Final. Kohli, along with R Ashwin, will become the only Indian players to win an ODI World Cup twice if India manages to beat five-time champions Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
The two veterans are the only two active members of the 15-man Indian squad that was part of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning campaign. Kohli, who was yet to make his mark, was just 22 years old back then and was just 3 years into his international career. Despite being older than Kohli, Ashwin had made his debut just a year prior and was not even a regular in the playing XI.
No other Indian cricketer has ever come close to winning two ODI World Cup titles. While players like Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, and Harbhajan Singh all featured in two finals, they did not have any chance to lift the cup twice. Having lost the 2003 World Cup Final to a familiar foe, Australia, the five men won the cup in 2011 but did not stand a chance to become two-time champs.