IND vs SL: Sunil Gavaskar Recalls Virat Kohli's Test Debut Ahead Of His 100th Test in Mohali

Virat Kohli made his Test debut against West Indies in June 2011 and a decade later is standing on the cusp of his 100th Test In Mohali starting from Match 4. The first Test between India and Sri Lanka will witness Kohli playing his 100th Test match. After initial deliberations by the Punjab Cricket Association, they have agreed to allow 50 per cent of the capacity crowd to enter into the stadium across five days.

Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar who has seen Virat Kohli’s journey from close quarters has recalled Virat Kohli’s Test debut against the Windies. He scored four and 15 in the first two innings on his Test debut. Kohli had to face the hear from Windies pacer Fidel Edwards who was one of the fastest bowlers during his time.

Talking to Sports Today, Gavaskar remembered the duel between the two and spoke about his first impressions of Virat Kohli. Over the years, his aggression, dedication and commitment towards the game was always a talking point and how it inspired a generation of cricketers.

“It has been a fabulous journey. Even in his debut series, he wasn’t afraid to take on the opposition. I don’t know how many of you recall when way back in 2011, he made his Test debut. Fidel Edwards was bouncing him and he was ducking them. After that Edwards stared at Virat and Kohli in return was blowing kisses to him through the grille of the helmet.”

“For a newcomer to be dealing that way with one of the fastest bowlers in the world – Fidel Edwards was quick. He was 145 plus – that told you about the young man’s belief in himself and the guts that he showed. Since then, it has only been an upward curve as far as his career in concerned,” said Gavaskar while speaking to Sports Today.

The former Indian skipper further hailed Kohli’s consistency. The former Indian skipper was at his peak between 2016-2019 soring runs for fun across formats. In Test cricket especially, he had a stellar record. In those three years, Kohli scored 4208 runs in 43 Tests with 16 hundreds and 10 fifty-plus scores.

Virat Kohli’s Consistency Has Been Remarkable: Sunil Gavaskar

“I think his overall consistency has been remarkable. He just had a blip in 2014 but apart from that, he hasn’t had a bad series at all which is remarkable. Because he hasn’t had ordinary series. He has had an excellent, very good or good series. Although he hasn’t got hundreds of late, he has got 70s and 80s,” Gavaskar added.

Also Read: Watch – BCCI Pays Tribute To Virat Kohli For 100th Test, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly Give Special Message To The Batter