Dubai: Hours before the much-awaited India-Pakistan clash in the Asia Cup, skipper Rohit Sharma and his teammates heaped praises on the out-of-form Virat Kohli and wished the former captain success in his landmark 100th T20 International.
Kohli is set to become only the second cricketer, after New Zealander Ross Taylor, to play at least 100 international matches in all three formats – Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
Kohli’s runs have dried up for far too long. He has scored a solitary half-century in his last 22 innings (including IPL), while the last time he scored a century in international cricket was against Bangladesh in November 2019.
However, the selectors and team management have kept faith in him and picked him for the Asia Cup after resting him for the tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
“His hunger and his passion are unmatchable. Every time you see him, he comes out with a different energy. It’s definitely not easy to play 100 games for India across formats. So I would personally congratulate him for that,” Rohit told Star Sports.
“It’s a massive achievement. Every time you see him, his game seems to be at a different level. I hope Asia Cup will be no different. Massive player for us, without a doubt. I hope he is at his best for the team’s sake,” he added.
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All-rounder Hardik Pandya was in awe of Kohli’s achievement.
“To play that amount of cricket itself is a big achievement, leave the record aside. People will remember this achievement for a very long time, I don’t see this happening in the near future, very often,” said Pandya, who is a vital cog in Team India’s wheel.
“People playing 3 formats and playing 100 games in each, the kind of cricket we are playing, it looks like it’s going to be difficult. His records speak for themselves,” Pandya added.
Another all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja recalled his U19 days with Virat Kohli, saying the U19 World Cup-winning captain was passionate and energetic right from his early days.
“From the U-19 days, we have been playing together. His dedication and hunger haven’t changed since then… It will only improve from here, I think. He works so hard for his runs, his fitness, everything,” Jadeja said.
