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KL Rahul said ‘words fall short of explaining’ Virat Kohli’s impact on cricket as he nears his 300th ODI against New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Virat Kohli (Picture Credit: Sportzpics)
Indian middle-order batter KL Rahul said ‘words fall short of explaining’ Virat Kohli‘s impact on cricket on the occasion of his closing on his 300th ODI appearance against New Zealand in Sunday’s 2025 Champions Trophy clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Rahul called Kohli an ‘important senior player’ whom he has always looked up to and wished him ‘many more’ centuries.
Kohli is the seventh most-capped ODI player in Indian men’s cricket history. If he plays against New Zealand, he’ll join Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh in the 300-ODIs club. Given they are all batters, Kohli has the best batting average of 58.20 and the most centuries at 51. He’s only behind Sachin Tendulkar in terms of runs in this club.
“That (300) is a lot of ODI matches. Words fall short of expressing how good a player he has been and what a great servant of Indian cricket he has been,” Rahul said in the press conference in Dubai ahead of India’s final match in Group B. “Really happy to see that he got a hundred in the last game as well, and (he is) batting really well. For a player of his caliber, it was about time that he scored that big and match-winning century.”
“It’s a great place for us as a team to be in where Rohit, Shubman, and Virat’s been in good form. Shreyas has played his part as well. Against England, he was striking the ball really well.”
“Virat, obviously, is very important part of the team. We are always looking up to Virat and Rohit to step up and score in big games, that’s what they have been able to do for so many years. Hopefully, there are many more hundreds and many more games left in them,” said Rahul.
Kohli will aim to continue his good form against New Zealand on Sunday after his unbeaten 100 against Pakistan. If India win this match, they’ll qualify in the first position in the Group A table and will play the second-placed team from Group B in the semi-final in Dubai.
- Location :
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
