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Glenn Phillips praises Virat Kohli’s incredible legacy ahead of India-New Zealand clash at 2025 Champions Trophy.
Virat Kohli will play his 300th ODI for India on Sunday (March 2) against New Zealand in Dubai. (Picture Credit: PTI)
New Zealand star Glenn Phillips believes Virat Kohli‘s ‘incredible’ and inspirational legacy will be remembered for a long time. Speaking ahead of the India-New Zealand clash at the 2025 Champions Trophy on Sunday, Phillips also lauded Kohli for closing in on the milestone of 300 ODIs.
If he plays on Sunday, Kohli will join Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh in the 300-ODIs club for India. Among them, Kohli has the best batting average of 58.20 and the most centuries, 51. He’s only behind Tendulkar in terms of ODI runs, too.
“Obviously, he’s an incredible player. And to know him a little bit personally myself is awesome. He’s an incredibly hard worker, and what he’s done for the sport, but also for Indian cricket and also people coming through the game as youngsters now is absolutely fantastic,” Phillips said in the pre-match press conference, as quoted by PTI.
“I think his legacy going forward will be remembered for a long time, inspiring a lot of people. And 300 ODIs, that’s a big feat, especially in today’s age, where one-day cricket isn’t played as often as it used to be. So, it’s really cool for him,” he added.
Kohli is coming off an unbeaten century against Pakistan in the previous match. The last time he played against the Kiwis in an ICC tournament, the 2023 World Cup semi-final, he scored his 50th ODI century.
‘We have a no-excuse mindset’: Glenn Phillips on India’s Dubai ‘advantage’
Sunday’s match will be played at the Dubai international cricket stadium, where India is slated to play all their contests, courtesy of the hybrid model of the tournament. This has come under fire from all quarters since India’s two wins in their first two games, with current and former cricketers calling it a big ‘advantage’.
But Phillips said his team is not focussing on that.
“For us there’s no focus on anything like that. Obviously, the tournament draw is what it is. We have a no-excuse mindset to be able to come out to a tournament. You’ve dealt the hand that you’ve dealt, and India has been dealt a hand. We’re never going to complain about what we get and we’ll just do the best of what we’ve got,” he said.
The all-rounder added that his team is prepared for their opponent and the Dubai pitch, with special attention to India’s spinners.
“We have our game plans against India. They’re an incredibly strong side and they pretty much have all their bases covered. So for us, I guess it’s about looking at the pitches and the results that have just gone by recently. Obviously it’s (the Dubai pitch) playing a little bit slow and there’s obviously a good deal of turn.
“So, I think it’s going to be an interesting match-up. They’ve got three quality spinners and we have a lot of all-rounders as well. So, we do have a lot of bases covered regardless of the situation that we’re going to be facing against,” he added.
- Location :
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
