Kohli lauds milestone man Yuvraj
Virat Kohli heaped praise on team-mate Yuvraj Singh, who will make his 300th one-day international outing for India against Bangladesh in the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final.
Defending champions India face their neighbours at Edgbaston on Thursday, seeking to retain the trophy they lifted after defeating England in the showpiece four years ago.
The first of Yuvraj's 299 ODI caps came way back October 2000, and the dangerous left-hander would likely have reached the 300 mark long ago had he not been diagnosed with cancer in 2012, which played a part in his absence from the 50-over format for over three years.
Having won that personal battle, Yuvraj is back with a vengeance and his captain was quick to sing his praises ahead of reaching the milestone.
"His contribution to cricket has been outstanding," Kohli said in Wednesday's media conference.
"He's been a total match winner for India, won so many big tournaments in big cities, and this is just a testimony to the kind of talent he possesses.
"You obviously need to have all those things in place to be able to play 300 games for India, and I congratulate him.
"I wish him all the very best, and hopefully he can play a lot more for us and get in those match-winning performances all over again, and I hope tomorrow is a special one for him."
.@imVkohli reclaims No.1 spot in the latest ICC ODI Player Rankings pic.twitter.com/5fPeAyQLy1
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Kohli, who suggested it was unlikely India would make any changes to the XI that routed South Africa to reach the last four, was also complimentary towards Thursday's opponents, who have become a force to be reckoned with in white-ball cricket.
"It's no surprise anymore to anyone that they are [doing] really well, and they've really improved their cricket, and it's a credit to their set-up and the kind of players they have now who are taking more responsibility, and they are a very dangerous side on their day, and everyone realises that," he said.
"You know, no one takes any opposition for granted, and Bangladesh have taken huge strides. They themselves said that in the last couple years.
"In the World Cup 2015 they were really, really good. You can never take any opposition for granted and credit goes to them for doing what they are doing with their cricket over the last couple of years."