The unseen struggles of Virat Kohli on his road to 500 games; Coach Rahul Dravid recalls journey

Digital Desk: Virat Kohli is set to play his 500th international match when India take on West Indies in the second Test on Thursday and head coach Rahul Dravid has hailed the star batter as an “inspiration” for players within the team and cricket enthusiasts in the country.

So far only three players, Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid, and MS Dhoni, have played 500 international matches for India.

“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 ahead of the Queen’s Park Oval Test.

“It’s nice to see Virat’s journey. When I first played, he was a youngster coming through. I was not really involved with 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.”

Talking about the secret of Kohli’s longevity, Dravid sighted the batter’s hard work that he puts in “behind the scenes”.

“I didn’t know that this was 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 has been reflected in his ability to play 500 games, is still going strong, is in excellent shape, and the energy he provides to the game and being around for 12–13 years now, that's just wonderful. "You don't have to say anything, but just the way you conduct yourself—the way you carry yourself, the way you go about practice (sessions), the way you go about your fitness—becomes an inspiration for a lot of other young players who are coming to the system."

 

 The 34-year-old Kohli has come a long way since making his ODI debut under Dhoni in a match against Sri Lanka at Dambulla in August 2008. He has participated in 274 ODIs, 115 T20Is, and 110 Tests.

He is the only player to have 4000-plus runs in T20Is and the fifth-most productive batsman in ODI history (12898 from 274 appearances with 46 hundred). He has 110 matches and 8555 runs in the Test format.