TEAM INDIA’S BEST WISHES FOR KOHLI AHEAD OF HIS 100th T20I AGAINST PAKISTAN

Khel Today Bureau

New Delhi: With Kohli on the verge of achieving a significant milestone in his career of playing 100 international matches across all three formats in cricket, his team mates sent in their heart felt wishes to him ahead of the greatest rivalry between India and Pakistan at the DP World Asia Cup 2022. The wishes are a testament of Kohli’s dedication and hard work, with his team mates speaking about how his legacy and leadership has aspired them to achieve the same. Players such as Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya sent in their wishes for Kohli and spoke about what he’s done for the India cricket team and their most cherished memories of him.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports show ‘Follow The Blues’, players from Team India sent in their best wishes to Virat Kohli, as he becomes the first Indian cricketer to play 100 matches across all three formats when India face Pakistan in their tournament opener at the Asia Cup 2022. Team India Captain Rohit Sharma said “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 said “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 who has played with Kohli since their formative days was all praise for Kohli and said “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.”

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar said “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 spoke about how Kohli’s attitude has rubbed off on the rest of the team and helped them improve their own game, “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”, he said.

Rishabh Pant gave a testament of Kohli’s longevity and how players from the team aspire to achieve the same milestones as him “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,” he said.

Hardik Pandya said “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.“

Link: https://twitter.com/StarSportsIndia/status/1563769290444120064?t=2pvVU1BTmAnvWmsekvdB9g&s=08

One of Kohli’s closest friends and former teammate at Royal Challengers Bangalore – ABD also sent in his best wishes to him ahead of his milestone achievement. “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,” he said.

Watch DP World Asia Cup 2022 – India vs Pakistan 7:30 PM onwards, live and exclusive only on the Star Sports Network & Disney+ Hotstar