India Cricket Captain Virat Kohli Named to Time's 100 Most Influential People

India cricket captain Virat Kohli has been named as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2018 following an extraordinary rise to prominence in the cricket world, per Time. 

Kohli ended 2017 with 2,818 international runs, the third highest in history, in what was a remarkable year for the 29-year-old.

In the accompanying Time article, by India legend Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli was described as a "household name and a champion in cricket."

Kohli's numbers last year were incredible. He hit 610 in a three-Test series against Sri Lanka in December 2017, the most ever by an Indian and the fourth highest in history, which included 293 in the final Test, the most ever by an Indian captain in a Test match.

Bikas Das/Associated Press

More recently, his 92 for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Mumbai Indians on April 17 made him the all-time leading runscorer in the Indian Premier League.

It is no wonder, then, that Kohli was praised so highly by Tendulkar. "My father always told me that if I focused on what I was doing, over time, detractors would become followers. Virat seems to have a similar outlook when it comes to his game," he said. "I wish him all the best for his career ahead and am confident he will continue to bring pride and glory to India through cricket."

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have recently granted Kohli's request to play county cricket this summer in preparation for India's five-Test tour of England, per Nagraj Gollapudi for ESPN Cricinfo.

This record-breaking cricketer, now revered as one of the most influential people in the world, looks set to be strutting his stuff in England over the coming months. Playing so consistently for club and country, it wouldn't come as a surprise should Kohli continue to break scoring records in county cricket.