Virat Kohli needs 58 runs to reach huge Test landmark during India vs Bangladesh series
Virat Kohli will be back in whites for India when the hosts take Bangladesh in a two-match Test series, which starts on September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The 35-year-old last played a Test in January this year against South Africa in Cape Town. He missed the five-match home series against England due to the birth of his second child.
Having not played a red-ball game for a while, Kohli will be keen to make a big impact in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh. He's also on the verge of a huge landmark heading into the series. The former India captain needs 58 runs to join the rare list of batters with 27,000 international runs. The right-hander has amassed 26,942 runs from 591 innings across three formats.
If Kohli scores 58 runs in the Test series against Bangladesh, he will become the fastest batter to reach the 27,000-mark in international cricket. Even if he doesn't get there against Bangladesh, Kohli should comfortably go on to break the record. Sachin Tendulkar is the record holder, having reached 27,000 international runs in 623 innings.
Further, if Kohli scores 58 runs in his next eight innings, he will become the first batter in the history of international cricket to reach 27,000 runs in less than 600 innings.
So far, only three batters have scored 27,000-plus runs in international cricket. Tendulkar ended his career with 34,357 runs. He's followed by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (28,016) and Australian legend Ricky Ponting (27,483).
Virat Kohli 152 runs away from 9,000 Test runs
Kohli is also close to reaching the 9,000-run landmark in Test cricket. He needs 152 runs to get there. Heading into the series against Bangladesh, the 35-year-old has notched up 8,848 runs in 113 Tests at an average of 49.15, with 29 hundreds and 30 fifties.
Only three Indian batters have scored more than 9,000 runs in Test cricket. Tendulkar leads the list with 15,921 runs in 200 matches. Former India captain and ex-head coach Rahul Dravid is second, with 13288 runs from 164 Tests. 'The Wall' is followed by Sunil Gavaskar, who amassed 10,122 runs in 125 Tests.
While his overall numbers are amazing, Kohli's recent Test figures have seen a dip. Since the start of 2020, he has scored 1,646 runs in 29 matches at an average of 33.59. The former India captain, though, scored two Test tons in 2023 and averaged a healthy 55.91.