The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah has wished the former Indian captain, Virat Kohli, to complete 16 years of international cricket on August 18, as the former also tagged him as the ‘King’ to credit a legendary career for the national side across formats.
Since making his debut in Dambulla against Sri Lanka in 2008, Virat Kohli has offered India so many memorable moments in the game over the years. He opened on his debut game because of an injury to Virender Sehwag and could manage 12 runs in 22 balls, with the help of one boundary.
Recently, during the T20 World Cup final 2024 at the Kensington Oval, in Bridgetown, Barbados, against the South Africa side, he showed how despite going through a poor tournament, he could back himself for a glorious knock to make India win their second title in the T20 World Cup.
“Congratulations to the King”- Jay Shah wishes Virat Kohli
When it comes to the One-day international (ODI) format, Virat Kohli is the third-highest run-getter across all the teams, smashing 13096 runs in 295 innings, at an average of 58.18 and a strike rate of 93.54. He has already celebrated 80 centuries and 93 half-centuries in the format, and the goal is to score another 21 more centuries to go past his icon, Sachin Tendulkar.
Also Read: Watch- Rohit Sharma Celebrates Virat Kohli’s 16 Years In International Cricket
The Delhi-born has also shown his power and atheism in the shortest format of the game, being the second leading run-scorer of T20Is, with 4188 runs in 125 games, at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of around 140, shouldering on 38 half-centuries and one century. He has already taken retirement from the format to focus more on the 50-over games and Test cricket.
Regarding the longest format of the game, Virat Kohli has cracked 8848 runs in 113 games at an average of 49.15 and a strike rate of 55.56, recording 29 centuries and 30 half-centuries. He has played some memorable knocks in the format, but the most impressive part of the batter was how he managed to make a comeback in Australia during the 2014-15 series after a poor couple of months in England, just six months before that period.
Shah took on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter) to wish the fantastic 16 years in international cricket of the former captain.
“16 years ago today, a 19-year-old @imVkohli stepped onto the international stage for the first time, marking the beginning of what has become a truly legendary career. Congratulations to the King on completing 16 years in international cricket!” The BCCI secretary wrote.
Apart from the runs, he is the first Indian captain to win a Test series in Australia, as his fierce battle as the leader showing huge belief in the pacers has taken the team to a different level in foreign games of the red-ball format.
Recently, there were a few reports that suggested that he and Rohit Sharma could be part of the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2024 to prepare for the upcoming two matches in the Bangladesh series and the rest of the season.
However, later, Shah pointed out that the decision had been reversed to avoid any unnecessary injuries to the senior players ahead of a huge Test season.
“We should not insist on players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to play in the Duleep Trophy. They will risk injury. If you have noticed, in Australia and England, every international player does not play domestic cricket. We have to treat the players with respect.” Shah expressed to the reporters.
India will also play a five-match Test series in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), which will begin towards the end of the year.
