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The India national cricket team batting superstar Virat Kohli has revealed the bowlers who gave him the toughest time in international cricket. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) icon has destroyed almost every bowling attack across formats during his legendary career, but there were still a few names that managed to trouble him with the ball.
Ahead of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s last league match of the ongoing IPL 2026 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on May 22, Virat Kohli attended a sports summit organized by the RCB Innovation Lab. During the event, the former India captain named the toughest bowlers he has faced in Tests, ODIs, and T20I cricket. However, he is now only active in ODIs, having retired from Tests and T20Is.
Virat Kohli named James Anderson as the toughest Test bowler
Virat Kohli picked legendary England fast bowler James Anderson as the toughest bowler he has ever faced in Test cricket. The rivalry between Kohli and Anderson has been one of the iconic modern-era rivalries. The England legend troubled the right-handed batter badly during India’s 2014 tour of England, dismissing him four times in that series.
Since then, every battle between Kohli and Anderson has become must-watch cricket for fans around the world. They have faced each other in 25 Tests in their careers, with the former England pacer having dismissed Kohli seven times in Test cricket with the latter averaging over 43.
Adil Rashid troubled Virat Kohli most in ODIs!!!
When it comes to ODI cricket, Kohli surprisingly picked another England bowler, and he is none other than one of the most successful white-ball spinners, Adil Rashid. The dashing batter said that the experienced leg-spinner troubled him the most in the 50-over format.
Over the years, Rashid’s clever variations and sharp spin have created problems for Kohli many times. The seasoned spinner has dismissed Kohli five times in ODI cricket, including back-to-back dismissals during England’s tour of India in 2025. He has scored 112 runs off 130 balls faced against Rashid.
Sunil Narine becomes biggest threat to Virat Kohli in T20s
Meanwhile, Kohli surprised everyone by picking the mystery spinner Sunil Narine of the West Indies as the toughest bowler he has faced in T20 cricket. They have never faced each other in T20I cricket, but Narine gave a really tough time to Kohli in the IPL.
Well, Kohli has dominated almost every bowler in IPL history, but Narine remains one of the few bowlers who have managed to keep him quiet. The RCB icon has managed just 15 boundaries in 180 balls and has been dismissed four times by the Kolkata Knight Riders' mystery spinner in the IPL.
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Despite being one of the greatest T20 batters ever, Kohli has so far failed to hit a six against Narine, and the most shocking thing is his strike rate of 105.67 against him. Recently, Kohli faced Narine in Raipur and managed to hit only one boundary against him.
RCB icon's stunning IPL 2026 season so far
Well, Kohli is once again dominating the IPL for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He has so far scored 542 runs in 13 matches in the ongoing IPL 2026 at a stunning strike rate of 164.74 and an impressive average of 54.20. He has been a key to RCB’s playoff qualification.
