Virat Kohli will become the twelfth Indian player to reach 100 Tests when he takes the field during the first match of the series against Sri Lanka on Friday. The former Indian captain joins a list of legendary former Indian batters like Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, and current head coach Rahul Dravid to reach the mark.
Kohli has received congratulatory wishes from all the aforementioned cricketers upon reaching the mark and on Thursday, former India bowler Irfan Pathan took to his official Twitter account to hail the 33-year-old batter.”Test cricket was limping and that’s when it found a magical physio in Virat Kohli. He came, He conquered and He made everyone love test cricket all over again! Congratulations @imVkohli on your remarkable achievement,” tweeted Irfan. Kohli’s 100th Test match will be played in front of a 50 per cent capacity crowd at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. The former Indian captain was initially slated to play his 100th Test in South Africa; however, a niggle forced Kohli to skip a Test in the three-Test series. As fate would have it, the 33-year-old will be reaching the landmark at his home.
Kohli will be playing his 100th Test match under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma who will be leading India for the first time in Test matches. Kohli has amassed 7,962 runs in 99 Tests at an average of 50.39 with 27 tons to his name.
Earlier, the BCCI also shared a video where a number of former greats including Tendulkar, Ganguly, Vengsarkar, Ganguly, and Virender Sehwag, as well as Kohli’s long-term state and international teammate Ishant Sharma sent congratulatory messages for the former Indian captain.
