"12 years in Test cricket today" - Virat Kohli reflects on his journey
On Tuesday, former Indian captain Virat Kohli celebrated the anniversary of his Test debut on June 20, 2011. The right-handed batter took to his official Instagram handle and celebrated his glorious journey in the then-to-now format.
He captioned the post:
"12 years in test cricket today. Forever grateful 💫🙇🏻♂️."
The 34-year-old didn't have the most auspicious debut, managing only 19 runs across innings against the West Indies at Kingston in 2011. However, the Delhi-born cricketer is currently the mainstay of this Indian batting unit and arguably one of their most experienced players.
In 109 Tests, he has amassed 8479 runs at 48.72 with 28 centuries. The veteran batter's best of 254 came against South Africa in 2019.
Kohli is also one of the most successful captains in the format and the most successful India has ever had. In 68 matches, Kohli has captained India to 40 wins and endured 17 defeats. He is also one of the few skippers to not lose a home series.
Virat Kohli likely to be rested for the limited-overs series of the upcoming West Indies tour
The star cricketer could be rested for the three ODIs and five T20Is India are scheduled to play in their tour of the West Indies next month.
However, he is expected to feature in the two-Test series preceding the white-ball games. This will also mark the start of India's new World Test Championship cycle.
The 34-year-old was part of India's World Test Championship (WTC) final earlier this month against Australia. However, the star cricketer couldn't meet the expectations, falling for 14 and 49 in the two innings he batted.
While he got out to an almost unplayable delivery from Mitchell Starc in the first innings, Kohli fiddled with a ball well outside off-stump in the second off Scott Boland. His wicket triggered a massive collapse of their batting unit as they were bundled out for 234, chasing 444 after starting day five at 164-3.
Australia won by 209 runs to lift the WTC mace.