Virat Kohli dons the whites for the 100th time today when the side takes on Sri Lanka in the first Test in Mohali.
Team India head coach Rahul Dravid on Friday honored former India captain Virat Kohli as the 33-year-old reached the 100th Test landmark in Mohali. Kohli, along with legends such as Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag, became the twelfth Indian cricketer to be included in an elite list of batsmen.
Kohli stepped down as India's Test captain in January after seven years in charge, during which he led the team to the top of the Test rankings and reached the final of the inaugural World Test Championship last year.
Under the Indian batsman's leadership, the team ended a 71-year drought in Australia when they secured their first series win in 2019 and took a 2-1 lead in a series in England last year before the final Test was postponed.
Watch Dravid felicitate Kohli:
Virat Kohli's felicitation ceremony.#VK100 #100thTestForKingKohli #INDvSL #ViratKohli𓃵 https://t.co/mDorGbDB1l pic.twitter.com/5qAXliQMqh
— Mihir Dhawan (@imMdhawan) March 4, 2022
"It's well deserved, it's well earned, and as we say in the dressing room, double it," Dravid told Kohli after Dravid awarded Kohli his 100th Test cap.
On receiving the cap, Kohli along with wife Anushka Sharma thanked his family, friends, teammates and childhood coach and also penned a message for the generations to come.
Kohli took over as captain from MS Dhoni in 2014 and has won 40 out of 68 Tests - more than any other Indian captain.
"I clearly remember that when I took over the Test captaincy, I had this approach... line," Kohli had said in an interview posted by BCCI on Thursday.
“So proud. Just to be part of the atmosphere was something magical – you entered the dressing room and you felt like you could win anywhere and that feeling was so empowering.”
Earlier in the Mohali Test, India had won the toss and opted to bat against Sri Lanka at the PCA Stadium. India have opted to field three spinners (Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jayant Yadav) and two fast bowlers (Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami). While Hanuma Vihari was at number three, Shreyas Iyer will bat at number five.