The India vs West Indies second Test match in Trinidad will be a special one for Virat Kohli. He will join Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni to become only the fourth Indian to have represented the country in 500 matches across formats. Overall Kohli will only be the 10th after Tendulkar (664 matches), Mahela Jayawardena (652 matches), Kumar Sangakkara (594 matches), Sanath Jayasuriya (586 matches), Ricky Ponting (560 matches), MS Dhoni (538 matches), Shahid Afridi (524 matches), Jacques Kallis (519 matches), and Dravid (509 matches).
This will also be Kohli’s 111th Test match for India. Interestingly, he started his red-ball journey in the Caribbean islands back in 2011. Ahead of the historic occasion, Kohli said he was blessed. “I’m really grateful. I feel very blessed that I have had such a long journey, playing for India and such a long Test career… I’ve really had to work hard for it and it makes me happy for the work that you have put in. To see the longevity and results over the years… I’m very grateful,” Kohli said in a video shared by BCCI.
Kohli is the highest run-scorer in world cricket by some distance among active cricketers. With 25461 runs in 499 matches across formats, he is the sixth in the all-time list of run-scorers in international cricket only behind Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, Mahela Jayawardene, and Jacques Kallis.
Kohli has 75 international centuries to his name to date, which is the second-best after Tendulkar’s 100. has played 110 Tests, 274 ODIs and 115 T20Is. He is the fifth most prolific batter in ODI history (12898 from 274 matches with 46 hundreds) and the only player to have 4000-plus runs in T20Is. In the Test format, he has scored 8555 runs from 110 matches.
Rahul Dravid in awe of Virat Kohli ahead of India vs West Indies 2nd Test
India head coach Rahul Dravid, who was a part of the XI when Kohli made his Test debut 12 years ago, lauded the former India captain for his longevity.
“I didn’t know that this is his 500th game. For me, what has been great is to see the efforts and the work that he puts in behind the scenes when no one is watching. And that’s great for a coach because a lot of young players will look to that and get inspired.
“That’s come because of a lot of hard work behind the scenes. A lot of sacrifices that he has made through his career and is willing to continue to make. Longevity comes with a lot of hard work, discipline, and adaptability and he has shown all of that. So, long it may continue.”
Dravid, himself a former captain and legendary batter, said he does not see any signs of Kohli slowing down any time soon.
“That has reflected in the fact that he has been able to play 500 games, is still going very strong, very fit, and the energy he brings to the game and being around for 12-13 years now, that’s truly fantastic. And it does not come easy.
“You don’t have to say anything but just the way you conduct yourself the way you carry yourself, the way you go about practices, the way you go about your fitness becomes an inspiration for a lot of other young players who are coming to the system.”