500 and counting… King of Indian cricket Virat Kohli is all set to play his 500th international match, joining the legendary company of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni. Dravid will be in the dressing room on Virat Kohli 500th match but as the head coach. Having watched Kohli from close quarters, he does not see Kohli slow down anytime soon. Kohli’s milestone match will be IND vs WI 2nd Test today.
“I think it is fantastic and he (Kohli) is an inspiration to so many players within this team. He is also an inspiration to so many boys and girls back home in India,” Rahul Dravid said ahead of the IND vs WI 2nd Test.
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With 25,461 uns and 75 centuries, Kohli is as prolific as any batter can get. While he has sealed his legend status, Dravid thinks he can get past many records.
“His numbers and stats speak for themselves and his performances are all there in the (record) books. For me what has been great to see first-hand is the effort and the willingness and the work he puts in behind the scenes when no one is watching. That reflects in the fact that he has been able to play 500 games,” Dravid said.
With a gritty 76-run knock against West Indies in the first Test, Virat Kohli will now look to end the Test series with 29th Test ton.
“He is still going very strong. He is very fit and the energy and enthusiasm he brings to the game in spite of playing 500 games and being around here for 12 or 13 years now,” Dravid added.
Kohli is fifth most prolific batter in ODI history. With 12898 runs from 274 matches including 46 hundreds, he is a legend of the format. He is also the only player to have 4000-plus runs in T20Is. In the Test format, he has scored 8555 runs from 110 matches.
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