Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli shared heartwarming messages ahead of India's 1000th ODI

India is locking horns with the West Indies in the first ODI at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. A determined Indian team would be hoping to put their South Africa debacle behind and start afresh in the home white-ball series. At the same time, the Men In Blue have two wonderful occasions to celebrate. The first one of course is that Rohit Sharma is leading the team for the very first time as a full-time ODI skipper while another memorable occasion is that the national cricket team is making their 1000th appearance in ODIs.

It needs to be noted that India is the first and only team to play 1000 matches in the 50-overs format and have recorded 518 wins from 999 One Day International appearances since they had first played the game back in 1974. Another interesting aspect is that the late Mumbai cricketer Ajit Wadekar had led the Indian team in their maiden ODI appearance and now, another Mumbaikar Rohit Sharma is set to lead them in their 1000th outing in this format.

It’s a great honor to captain in the game, a privilege to lead the boys: Rohit Sharma

As Team India look to make their 1000th appearance in One Day Internationals, the head coach Rahul Dravid, captain Rohit Sharma and batting icon Virat Kohli shared a heartwarming message for all the enthusiasts for the game.

“Tomorrow is going to be a historic day for Indian cricket as we go on to play the 1000th ODI. I would like to congratulate all players who took part in the long journey,” said Rohit while speaking in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

“It’s a great honor to captain in the game, a privilege to lead the boys. Our journey has been fantastic. So many players have come and represented the country, put their best foot forward. It will be nothing different for us, we will keep raising the bar for Indian cricket”,  he added.

Meanwhile, Kohli said that the team has grown from strength to strength and despite having a couple of transitions, that went very well only shows that the bench strength and the amount of talent that the country has in this game is amazing. He then mentioned that he was proud of having had such a long career with the Men In Blue and also for being a part of so many matches that have eventually brought the team to the landmark of 1000 ODIs.

“It’s a big number and a testimony to how many matches played over the year,” he said.

The coach Rahul Dravid said that even though India started playing ODI cricket in 1974, the turnaround started nearly a decade later when the country lifted its maiden World Cup in 1983 under Kapil Dev. At the same time, the former India A and U19 coach also explained how hosting two World Cups in 1987 and 1996 helped the format grow in this country and how One Day cricket became very popular with the fans in the 90s. Furthermore, the ex-skipper also added that the 1983 and 2011 World Cup triumphs reflect their success in the 50-overs format.

“The number of games that India play has increased manifold. The game has grown in this country and it has become one of the top format”, Dravid said.