India is playing the ODI series against touring New Zealand and I am amazed to see the way former Indian captain Virat Kohli is now batting. Virat is enjoying his game. There was a discussion on media and on social media about his poor form, even lots of former Indian players expected him to announce his retirement but Virat surprised them by hitting a ton in a domestic match and announced his intent for 2026. Coming back to the national side, he completed 28,000 career international runs on Sunday, when India took on New Zealand in the first ODI of the three-match series at the Kotambi International Stadium.
He became the fastest cricketer to reach this milestone, doing so in just 624 innings, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's record, who did it in 644 innings. I am sure with his kind of fitness, form and skill he looks set to play for another few years.
I really appreciate the way he has carved his career in all these years. Staring his career as a young and aggressive player, he went on to become a very respected sportsman. I think young players should learn from him. The way Kohli has bounced back shows his mental toughness.
Arif Jabbar,
By email