On Virat Kohli’s 500th game, Rahul Dravid said, “I’ve Learned a Lot From Him”

<p>When Virat Kohli hits the field against the West Indies in the second Test on Thursday in Trinidad, he will add another achievement to his resume. The former captain of India will go down in cricket history as the fourth player to play 500 international matches for India. He will join the select group of Indian hitters that includes record-holder Sachin Tendulkar, who has played in 664 games. Former captain MS Dhoni (538) and current head coach Rahul Dravid (509) are the other two names.</p>
<p>Before Kohli played in his 500th international match, Dravid gushed over the star Indian cricketer, praising the latter’s dedication to the sport and hard work in the background that helped him achieve multiple milestones in his remarkable career.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-85782″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/www.theindiaprint.com-to-compete-with-chatgpt-and-googles-bard-apple-is-working-on-the-apple-gpt-ai-tool-learn-more-b0f26-16898233338862-1920-11zon-750×500.png” alt=”” width=”1562″ height=”1041″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/www.theindiaprint.com-to-compete-with-chatgpt-and-googles-bard-apple-is-working-on-the-apple-gpt-ai-tool-learn-more-b0f26-16898233338862-1920-11zon-750×500.png 750w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/www.theindiaprint.com-to-compete-with-chatgpt-and-googles-bard-apple-is-working-on-the-apple-gpt-ai-tool-learn-more-b0f26-16898233338862-1920-11zon-768×512.png 768w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/www.theindiaprint.com-to-compete-with-chatgpt-and-googles-bard-apple-is-working-on-the-apple-gpt-ai-tool-learn-more-b0f26-16898233338862-1920-11zon-150×100.png 150w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/www.theindiaprint.com-to-compete-with-chatgpt-and-googles-bard-apple-is-working-on-the-apple-gpt-ai-tool-learn-more-b0f26-16898233338862-1920-11zon.png 840w” sizes=”(max-width: 1562px) 100vw, 1562px” /></p>
<p>He is without a doubt a tremendous inspiration to many players on this squad as well as to many boys and girls back in India, in my opinion. His statistics and figures speak for themselves; everything is documented in the books.</p>
<p>What has been amazing is to see the efforts and energy he puts forth when no one is looking. The fact that he has played 500 games and is still going strong, healthy, and energetic after having played 500 games and been around for 12–13 years, I believe, is evidence of this. It is very wonderful. And that doesn’t come naturally,” Dravid said.</p>
<p>The Indian head coach went on to praise Kohli for his sacrifices and role modeling for the next generation.</p>
<p>That resulted from a ton of diligent effort on the back end. He has made a lot of sacrifices during his career and is eager to do so going forward. And that’s fantastic for a coach because it will serve as an inspiration to many young players. You don’t even need to speak; simply the way you carry yourself, behave yourself during sessions, and maintain your health serves as an example for many other young players who are joining the system.</p>
<p>“Longevity comes with a lot of hard work, discipline, and adaptability, and he has shown all of that,” the expert said.</p>
<p>Long before Rahul Dravid became the head coach of India, he and Kohli shared a dressing room. Speaking about his relationship with the latter, Dravid said that getting to know the batter has been incredible and that he has also learnt a lot from him.</p>
<p>“Virat’s trip has been lovely as a result. He was a young player when I initially started playing. I didn’t participate as much as I might have in the team. I admired him much from a distance as I saw what he had accomplished and was still doing.</p>
<p>And now that I’ve had the chance to connect with him, get to know him personally, and get to know him over the last two to eighteen months, it’s been fantastic. In many respects, I really loved learning from him, and I think he did too, too,” Dravid added.</p>
<p> </p>