The other Kohli who shone at the 2008 u19 World Cup was Taruwar Kohli.Many things make the 2008 u19 World Cup in Malaysia memorable. India defeated South Africa in the tournament’s final by a margin of 12 runs to win their second championship. Virat Kohli, the current captain of the Indian cricket team, took the lead during the tournament with 235 runs and two hundreds. Many future international cricket talents, including Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, Tim Southee, and Trent Boult, made their mark during that competition.
Although Virat Kohli is more well-known, there was another Kohli who stood out in that tournament and was equally as important to India’s triumph. Taruwar Kohli is a right-handed batsman from Punjab who also plays the right arm medium bowler. Prior to the u19 World Cup1, he was India’s No. 3 batter and had never opened at a competitive level of cricket. He stepped up to the plate and showed unwavering steadiness by scoring 218 runs in three straight half-centuries to guide India through the opening stretch of their successful World Cup campaign.
Sushil and Meenu Kohli’s son Taruwar was born on December 17, 1988, in Jalandhar, Punjab. Sushil Kohli, his father, was a skilled water polo player and professional swimmer3. At the age of 10, Taruwar began playing cricket and quickly demonstrated his skill with both the bat and the ball. In the 2005–2006 Vijay Merchant Trophy, he made his debut for Punjab Under-17s, making five appearances in the championship, and scoring 85 * in his debut in a drawn three-day match. In the second-to-last game, he scored the most points with 110.
The following year, he maintained his strong play by amassing 700 runs in seven games for the Colonel Naidu Trophy with three hundreds (196, 145, and 127). He also served as captain of Punjab’s U-19 team, which won the one-day competition. He defeated Uttar Pradesh in the semifinals with an undefeated 118 and five wickets. He was chosen to play for the Indian under-19 squad in their 2007–2008 tour of South Africa, where he made two centuries and claimed six wickets in four games.
He was then selected for the u19 World Cup team, where he and Shreevats Goswami had a strong opening pairing. In the group stage, he scored 64 against England, 51 against South Africa, and 63 against Papua New Guinea. In the semi-final match against New Zealand, he also scored a critical 43. He finished the tournament as India’s third-highest run scorer, after Virat Kohli and Saurabh Tiwary.
He made his Ranji Trophy debut for Punjab in the 2008–09 season after his outstanding performance in the u19 World Cup, hitting 79 against Saurashtra in his first innings. In the same season, he also made his List A debut by scoring 58 against Haryana. During the IPL 2009, he participated in two games for Kings XI Punjab (KXP). He was a member of the Rajasthan Royals team in the 2010 IPL, however he was not given the opportunity to play.
He kept playing for Punjab till the 2017–18 domestic cricket season, amassing over 4000 runs with 13 hundreds and over 70 wickets with three five-wicket hauls. In first-class cricket, he also recorded two triple century, one of which being an undefeated 307 * against Jammu & Kashmir in the 2013–14 season.
He relocated to Mizoram as a professional player for the 2018–19 season and was named their captain. With a double century and six wickets, he helped them defeat Arunachal Pradesh to win the Ranji Trophy for the first time. During the same season, he also struck a second double-century against Sikkim. Since then, he has played for Mizoram and has always been one of their best players.
Taruwar Kohli has been a productive run-scorer and useful bowler in domestic cricket, despite not having attained the same recognition and acclaim as Virat Kohli. He has also played with some of the top athletes of his generation and was a member of India’s u19 World Cup-winning team. Although he is 34 years old, he still has plenty of cricket left in him. Although he hasn’t yet played for India at the senior level, he has built a name for himself in cricket.
