Virat Kohli is set to achieve a significant milestone in his career by becoming the first Indian to complete a century of international matches across all three formats.
Kohli has represented India in 102 Tests and 262 ODIs so far, and the Asia Cup match against Pakistan will be his 100th T20 International.
His team-mates including captain Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya sent in their wishes for Kohli on the landmark on Star Sports show 'Follow The Blues'.
They also spoke Kohli’s dedication and hard work, and how his legacy and leadership has aspired them to achieve the same.
Rohit Sharma: We know that his hunger and passion is unmatchable, every time you see him he come out with different energy all the time and you know it’s definitely not easy to play 100 games for India across formats. So I would firstly congratulate him for that, it’s a massive achievement, every time we see him, his game is at a different level, I hope Asia Cup will be no different, massive player for us without a doubt. I hope you know, he’s at his best for the team’s sake.
Suryakumar Yadav: 100 T20 internationals, I think it’s another milestone for you Virat bhai. I feel the way you are on the field, be the same way, electrifying and spread as much knowledge as possible for everyone. I love to see you on the ground as you are, and we learn a lot. Just be yourself and enjoy.
Ravindra Jadeja: I remember when we were playing Under-19, since then his dedication and hunger for runs is still fresh or in my opinion even more, because from Under-19 till now, his goal has been to always work hard to get runs, improve his fitness, game, and more.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: I think his legacy is not only to make runs but also how he approaches the game. I think many people notice how he is pushing himself and how he wants to change the game.
KL Rahul: He is the first Indian to do this, he’s obviously been our leader for a long time and he’s guided this young Indian team to where we are today and made us realise that we can always push the boundaries, push the barrier and try and be better in terms of skill.
Rishabh Pant: One of the biggest things is in all three formats if any player represents India for 100 matches, and Virat has played 400, 600 matches. So he’s amazing as a cricketer and you hope that even your career becomes like his in life, and play 400, 500 matches for India, win so many matches for India, his legacy of winning so many matches for India over a period of time, so looking at his career us players get inspired, that we can be somewhere near his level at the end.
Hardik Pandya: To play that amount of cricket itself is a big achievement, leave the record its fine, people will remember this feat for the longest time since I don’t see in the near future this happening very often, people playing two, three formats and you know playing 100 games each. If someone has the passion why not, but with the cricket we are playing it’ll be difficult so people will remember this for a long time and yeah that’s it, his record speaks for itself.“
AB de Villiers: I take this opportunity to congratulate my very good friend Virat Kohli on becoming the first Indian cricket player to play a 100 matches across all three formats. What an amazing achievement Virat, we are all very proud of you and all the very best in your 100th T20 International game.
