Star India batter Virat Kohli will become the first Indian to play 100 international matches in every format in international cricket when he takes the field against Pakistan in the Asia Cup on Sunday evening. In fact, only New Zealand's Ross Taylor has achieved this feat before him. Ahead of Kohli's milestone match India vice-captain KL Rahul spoke about the batting icon and his legacy and said that the former skipper is the reason the team is where it is today.
"He is the first Indian to do this, he's obviously been our leader for a long time and he's guided this young Indian team to where we are today and made us realise that we can always push the boundaries, push the barrier and try and be better in terms of skill," Rahul told Star Sports ahead of the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup clash.
Kohli is returning to cricketing action after a month-long sabbatical that saw him miss out on a limited-overs tour of the West Indies as well as an ODI series in Zimbabwe.
Kohli will be looking to find some form and put an extended lean patch behind him in the Asia Cup.
Set to play his 100th T20I, Kohli has 102 Test caps and has played 262 ODIs since making his international debut in in a 50-over match against Sri Lanka in 2008.
The Indian team management will be banking on him to have a good Asia Cup campaign and head into the 2022 T20 World Cup with some momentum behind him.