Asia Cup 2022: Indian cricketers congratulate Virat Kohli ahead of record 100th T20I

Former India skipper and ace batter Virat Kohli is all set to play his 100^th T20 international game for Team India, at the Asia Cup 2022, and it will surely be a memorable and worthy one given the game is against arch-rivals Pakistan. With this, Kohli will become the first Indian player, and the second overall, to play 100 games across all formats.

Though the stalwart has not been in form with the bat in the recent times, his achievements and numbers speak for him. While leading the Indian side, he has given some memorable knocks. Though he could not win an ICC trophy, he led the team to multiple record-breaking victories as the Indian side scripted history under his leadership.

People will remember this feat for the longest time: Hardik Pandya

As he adds another feather to his cap, BCCI shared a video of his teammates congratulating him for the massive achievement. Current skipper Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, and Rishabh Pant lavished praises on Kohli and wished the best for the 33-year-old. Here’s what they said:

Rohit Sharma: “It’s definitely not easy to play 100 games for India across formats so I would firstly congratulate him for that. It is a massive achievement. Every time we see him, his game seems to be at a different level. And I hope Asia Cup will be no different. He is a massive player for us without a doubt and I hope he is at his best for the team’s sake.”

Suryakumar Yadav: “100 T20 internationals, I think it is again another milestone for you Virat Bhai. I feel the way you are on the field be the same way- electrifying- and spread as much knowledge as possible to everyone. We love to see you on the ground as you are and we learn a lot. Just be yourself and enjoy.”

KL Rahul: “He is the first Indian to do this and he has obviously been our leader for a long time. He has 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 skills. If we have good fitness and if we become fit individuals then our scale level also goes up.”

Hardik Pandya: “To play that amount of cricket itself is a big achievement, leave the records aside. People will remember this feat for the longest time and I don’t see the near future this happening often that is people playing three formats and playing 100 games each. If someone has the passion then why not but I feel the kind of cricket we are playing it’s looking like it’s going to be difficult.”

Rishabh Pant: “If any player represents India in 100 matches across all formats, it is a big thing. And Virat bhaiya has played like 400-500 matches in his career so he is amazing. As a cricketer, you look up to him and hope that you too have a career like him, that you too represent India in 400 or 500 matches and take the team to multiple victories. It is Virat Kohli’s legacy that he has led India to so many wins over a period of time. People are always inspired looking at his career and they think that even if we reach anywhere near what he has done then there’ll be something good to look upon in life.”

Wishes galore for @imVkohli ahead of his 100th T20I for #TeamIndia.

Listen in to what the team members have to say on his milestone game.#AsiaCup2022 #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/uWloBWzBxI

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 28, 2022