Wisden’s in-depth review of teams across formats this decade may trigger a few debates, but there can be none about Virat Kohli being the only cricketer to find place in all three teams. Not only is it a validation of Kohli’s match-winning ability but also the hunger to make his presence felt in any condition and against any opposition. It’s a near foolproof approach that has made Kohli a giant of the game adept at firefighting, grafting as well as chasing with authority; in short, a run machine.

A glance at his numbers proves this decade belonged to Kohli. He has scored 20,960 runs in 386 matches the most played by a cricketer this decade across the three formats this decade. The next best is South Africa’s Hashim Amla with 15,185 runs , followed by England Test captain Joe Root , New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson and David Warner .

Kohli’s risk-taking propensity also depends on the format. When it comes to hitting sixes, he is the most adventurous in the shortest format, where he still averages one per innings, abysmally low compared to other top T20 batsmen. His T20I strike rate may also have taken a slight hit because of this, but Kohli more than makes up by trying to make every innings count. In other formats however Kohli doesn’t take the aerial route much. In ODIs, he averages one six every two innings while in Tests it dips to one six in just over six innings. What seals his spot in the ODI and T20I teams is his average that goes through the roof while batting second68.66 from 50.25 in ODIs, and 86.76 from 35 in T20Is.

The only other specialist batsman to feature in more than one team is David Warner, who finds a place in the Test and ODI sides. Interestingly, Warner endured a forgettable Ashes series in England scoring 95 runs in 10 innings this summer after returning from a one-year ban for the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town in March, 2018. That takes nothing away from the Australia opener who has scored 7,088 runs in 83 Tests this decade, just 114 runs fewer and a match less than Kohli. Warner’s record of 23 Test centuries four less than Kohli and 30 fifties eight more than Kohli may indicate Kohli is better than Warner at converting fifties into hundreds, but overall, he is almost as prolific as the India captain.