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Sachin Tendular on Wednesday paid sparkling accolades for star batter Virat Kohli on his 100th Test, saying apart from his “terrific” on-field accomplishment, his achievement has been the ability to inspire a whole generation of cricketers.
Virat Kohli is set to play his milestone 100th Test when India play Sri Lanka in the first game of the two-game series at Mohali starting on Friday.
“What a terrific achievement. I remember first time I heard about you was when we were in Australia in 2007-08,” Sachin Tendulkar told BCCI.tv, recalling when Virat Kohli was first noticed in the Indian dressing room.
“You guys were playing U-19 WC in Malaysia and there were certain players in the team who were discussing about you, this is one player to watch out for, acchi batting kar leta hai. (he bats well).
“After that we played cricket together for India and not for long but whatever time we spent together, it was evident that you were keen on learning things. You kept working on your game and continued getting better,” he added.
Virat Kohli has scored 7962 runs notching up 27 hundreds and 28 fifties for 99 Tests at aa average of 50.39. He is additionally a productive white-ball player, having scored 12,311 runs with 43 centuries in 260 ODIs and 3,296 runs in 97 T20s.
“Its been fantastic to watch you over the years. Numbers will have their roles and but your real strength is being able to motivate the whole generation,” said the 48-year-old Tendulkar, who himself has played 200 Tests for India.
“That’s been your real strength and your immense contribution to Indian cricket. That is something which I would say is your real success. Wish you many more happy cricketing years, go out and do well.”
Kohli’s 100th Test will be assessable to spectators with the BCCI permitting crows at 50% stadium limit.
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