'Congratulations To Virat Kohli': BCCI Pays Epic Tribute To Ex-India Captain On 500th International Game

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to Twitter on Thursday morning to pay an epic tribute to Virat Kohli on his achievement.

Virat Kohli will become only the 10th international player ever to attain this milestone.

Source : @BCCI / Twitter

Former India skipper Virat Kohli, greatest of all time and an inspiration to many budding cricketers worldwide, will add another milestone to his book of achievements when he takes the field on Day 1 of India vs West Indies 2nd Test at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad. IND vs WI 2nd Test will be Virat Kohli's 500th international match for the Indian cricket team. The star player will become only the 10th international player ever to attain this milestone and 4th Indian player ever alongside Sachin Tendulkar (664 appearance), legend MS Dhoni (538), ‘The Wall’ Rahul Dravid (509) to reach the mark of 500 international caps.

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to Twitter on Thursday morning to pay an epic tribute to Virat Kohli on his achievement. "500 reasons to admire the journey! Congratulations to Virat Kohli on his 500th international match for #TeamIndia," BCCI wrote in the caption of their post on Twitter.

500 reasons to admire the journey!

Congratulations to Virat Kohli on his 5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th international match for #TeamIndia 🇮🇳🫡#WIvIND | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/Y9lez80Q97

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 20, 2023

500 & Counting 😃

Hear from #TeamIndia Head Coach Rahul Dravid and milestone man Virat Kohli ahead of a special occasion 👌🏻👌🏻#WIvIND | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/cJBA7CVcOj

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 20, 2023

In his 499 international matches so far, Virat Kohli has scored a total of 25,461 runs at an average of 53.48, with 75 centuries and 131 fifties, making him India's second highest run-getter in international cricket. The former captain has so far played110 Tests, 115 T20Is and 274 ODIs for the national team.

In a press conference ahead of IND vs WI 2nd Test, team India head coach Rahul Dravid hailed Virat Kohli for his achievement, calling him a 'real inspiration to many players within this team'.

“I didn’t know that this is his 500th game. I am not a great one for numbers. It’s great to hear that. It’s fantastic; he’s a real inspiration to so many players within this team without a doubt and to so many boys and girls back home in India," Dravid said.

"His numbers and his stats speak for themselves - it’s all there in the book. For me, what’s been great to see first-hand has been the effort and the work that he puts in behind the scenes when no one is watching. That is reflected in the fact that he has been able to play 500 games," he added.