“It’s a great moment for Indian cricket”: Sourav Ganguly congratulates Virat Kohli on playing 100 Test matches for India

Sourav Ganguly congratulates Virat Kohli: The BCCI President was wax lyrical about the former Indian captain’s latest milestone.

Former India captain Virat Kohli will enter an elite club of cricketers with 100 Test matches to their name when he takes the field at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium for the first Test against Sri Lanka tomorrow.

Kohli, who will become only the 12th Indian cricketer to achieve this milestone, will be the 71st across the world to play 100 Test matches. Readers must note that Kohli will follow childhood friend Ishant Sharma (105) into the club and will surpass former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin (99) in Mohali.

Apart from Azharuddin, other Indian cricketers who were close to the 100-Test mark are Zaheer Khan (92), Gundappa Viswanath (91) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (90). While veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara has also played 95 Tests for India, he still has a chance to join Kohli in the 100-Test club.

Sourav Ganguly congratulates Virat Kohli on playing 100 Test matches for India

Kohli, who is set to be felicitated by PCA (Punjab Cricket Association) on Friday, has already started receiving heartening wishes from former Indian cricketers.

While Irfan Pathan tweeted to congratulate Kohli on his landmark Test, an eight-minute long video featuring best wishes from Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Dilip Vengsarkar, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Sourav Ganguly and Ishant Sharma was uploaded on BCCI’s website (Board of Control for Cricket in India) last evening.

BCCI President Ganguly, who hasn’t had the best of relations with Kohli especially in the last six months or so, too, wished him well.

Hailing Kohli’s international career as an “exceptional achievement”, Ganguly congratulated him, his family and coaches who all have had a stellar role to play behind his success. Ganguly, who was in England recently, will travel to Mohali to watch the first Test.

“It’s a huge landmark in any cricketer’s career. Playing 100 Test matches is something you dream of when you start playing for your country. It’s a great moment for Virat [Kohli]. It’s a great moment for Indian cricket,” Ganguly said in the video.

“Virat’s had a great journey. Starting 10-11 years ago and getting to where he has reached today is an exceptional achievement. He’s had a fantastic career. He’s still got some time left in his cricket career to achieve greater milestones. And I hope he continues doing that. I wish him very well for this Test match and hope he performs very well.”