'Thankful for What He has Done for Indian Cricket': Ex-opnere Hails ‘Monk’ Kohli Ahead of 500th Game

Rgwellin

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posted on 1 year ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Former India batter Aakash Chopra underlined Kohli’s professionalism that helped him become “a brand ambassador of this beautiful sport.”

Virat Kohli is set to make his 500th international appearance when India and West Indies go head-to-head in their 100th Test match on July 20 in Trinidad. Kohli will become only the fourth Indian cricketer to play 500 international games, joining Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni in the elite list.

Ahead of his milestone game, former Indian cricketer Akash Chopra was in all praises for Kohli, labelling the veteran batter as ‘a monk’ who has dedicated his life to cricket.

Speaking on JioCinema, Chopra underlined Kohli’s professionalism that helped him become “a brand ambassador of this beautiful sport.”

“Virat Kohli’s dedication to the game is very evident and in fact defines him. That is the reason he has reached where he is today. We are all thankful for what he has done for Indian cricket and for cricket in general,” Akash Chopra said.

Virat Kohli has been the mainstay of the Indian batting lineup for quite some time now. A number of young talents have made their way into the squad in the last few years but could not affect the stature of Kohli. The former Indian skipper is currently the sixth-highest international run-scorer of all time. He is also chasing Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record of 100 international centuries and needs 25 tons more to achieve the feat.

Virat Kohli looked to be in his iconic rhythm in the opening Test against West Indies which India won by an innings and 141 runs. Kohli showed his grit while batting on the slow wicket in Dominica. The right-handed batter faced as many as 182 balls, en route to his 76-run knock during India’s first innings. Kohli struck only five boundaries despite spending a significant period at the crease.

Looking at his illustrious career, Virat Kohli has donned the whites for India in 110 Tests, aggregating a total of 8,555 runs. In ODIs, Kohli has represented the Men in Blue in 274 games and has scored 12,898 runs in total. The 34-year-old has also played 115 T20Is during his 12-year-long career, accumulating 4008 runs.