India’s ace cricketer Virat Kohli drew massive attention upon arriving at Vadodara airport on Wednesday, ahead of the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, starting on January 11, 2026. The series opener is set to be held at the BCA Stadium, Kotambi. A large crowd gathered to welcome the chase master, with chants of “Kohli, Kohli” echoing across the airport. Despite strict security, the scene became chaotic when Kohli left the terminal, as fans rushed to catch a glimpse of him. The stalwart eventually needed security help to reach his car safely.
THE AURA & CRAZE OF VIRAT KOHLI IN BARODA. (ANI).
pic.twitter.com/hzN2XqzXmO— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) January 7, 2026
Apart from Kohli, his teammate Nitish Reddy also arrived in Vadodara, with several other players expected to arrive in the city soon. The senior pro recently returned to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, competing in the List A format for the first time in 15 years. The former India captain has been in impressive form, following a strong 131 with a smooth 77 in his two matches. Kohli also surpassed 16,000 runs in List A cricket, becoming the fastest to reach this milestone and breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record. Kohli has been in outstanding form ever since he returned to international cricket during the Australia tour in October last year.
Although his start was slow with two ducks, he has since been performing exceptionally well. In the recent ODI series against South Africa, Kohli scored consecutive centuries and was India’s leading scorer. He is only 25 runs short of becoming the fastest cricketer to score 28,000 runs in international cricket. He will join Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara as the third player to reach this achievement if he manages to get past the 25-run mark in the first ODI.
The 37-year-old has scored a total of 27,975 runs over 623 innings, with 84 centuries and 145 half-centuries. Tendulkar reached this milestone in his 644th innings, and Sangakkara did so in his 666th innings. Kohli also has a strong record against New Zealand, having accumulated 1,657 runs in 33 ODIs, with nine half-centuries and six centuries. –IANS sds/vi
