Indian Team Coach Rahul Dravid Pays Tribute To Virat Kohli Ahead Of His 500th International Match

The second Test between West Indies and India will be starting on July 20 in Port Of Spain, Trinidad. It will be the 100th match between two iconic teams. However, that's not the only feat that will be achieved on the day of the Test match. Star batter Virat Kohli will be playing his 500th international match when India take on West Indies. Till now, Kohli has played 110 Test matches, 274 ODIs and 115 T20Is for India and amassed more than 20,000 runs across all the formats. Ahead of the crucial game, Rahul Dravid who is the coach of Team India praised the star batter.

"His (Kohli's) numbers and his stats speak for themselves, it’s all there in the books. He is a real inspiration to so many players within this team without a doubt and to so many people, boys and girls back home in India," Dravid said on the eve of the Test.

"It’s a nice to see Virat’s journey. When I first played, he was a youngster coming through. I was not really involved in the team as such. I watched him from the outside with a lot of admiration for what he has done and what he continues to achieve."

Dravid said Kohli's longevity and achievements in all the three formats was a result of "behind the scene" sacrifices and hardwork.

“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 (Kohli's success) has 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."

As far as records go, Kohli 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.

Dravid, 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, is 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."

India are 1-0 up in the two-match Test series.
(With PTI inputs)