Thiruvananthapuram: Indian star Virat Kohli created history after he walked onto the Greenfield International Stadium pitch for the first ODI against the West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. By taking his spot in India’s playing XI, Kohli officially broke former captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s long-standing 28-year-old record to become India’s most-capped player in One-Day Internationals against the West Indies.
The match marks Kohli’s 44th ODI appearance against West Indies, taking him past Azharuddin’s tally of 43 ODIs – a benchmark set between 1985 and 1998 that stood untouched for nearly three decades.
The 37-year-old Kohli is not only the most-capped Indian against this opposition; he is also the leading run-scorer, with 2,261 runs at a high average and nine hundreds. His best is the unbeaten 157 in Visakhapatnam in 2018.
Most ODIs For India Against West Indies
Player Span Matches vs WI Runs Hundreds
Virat Kohli 2009-2026 44* 2,261 9
Mohammad Azharuddin 1985-1998 43 998 0
Kapil Dev 1979-1994 42 842 0
Rahul Dravid 1997-2009 40 1,348 3
MS Dhoni 2005-2019 39 1,005 0
Sachin Tendulkar 1991-2011 39 1,573 4
Chasing Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s Overall Peak
While Kohli now leads the charts among Indian cricketers, the overall worldwide record for the most ODIs in India-West Indies encounters belongs to Caribbean batting icon Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who featured in 46 ODIs against India between 1994 and 2009.
If Kohli features in all three matches of the ongoing bilateral series, he will equal Chanderpaul’s global milestone.
Context Of The Milestone
Kohli made his ODI debut in 2008 and first faced West Indies in 2009. Longevity, fitness, and consistent selection across more than a decade and a half have taken him past a generation of Indian greats who themselves played a large share of their careers against Caribbean sides.
Azharuddin’s 43 games came in an era of more frequent bilateral series against West Indies. That Kohli needed until 2026 to overtake him underlines how scheduling, format rotation, and the rise of T20 cricket have changed the calendar.
Playing XIs For IND vs WI 1st ODI
Naman Dhir made his international debut as India won the toss and opted to bowl first against West Indies in the first ODI. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to the playing XI as India begins their preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (wk), Naman Dhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Gurnoor Brar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Prasidh Krishna
West Indies Playing XI: John Campbell, Justin Greaves, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (c & wk), Amir Jangoo, Jewel Andrew, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, and Jayden Seales
