The former and veteran off-spinner of the Indian team, Ravichandran Ashwin, has looked back at the past incident when he realized how great the current superstar of world cricket, Virat Kohli, is going to be in the future. That was the debut game for the latter against Sri Lanka due to the injury of their regular opener, Virender Sehwag.
Since then, Virat Kohli has broken so many records when it comes to the One-day internationals. The right-handed batter is currently the second-highest run-getter of the format, with 13906 runs in 283 innings at an average of 58.18 and a strike rate of over 93, celebrating 72 half-centuries and 50 centuries with a best score of 183-run knock.
He was supposed to be the middle-order batter, but with such a packed order with several quality batters waiting, it was hard to make it into the playing eleven of the MS Dhoni-led side.
Harbhajan Singh remembers how Virat Kohli tackled Ajantha Mendis
In the first game of the 2008 series, which was Virat Kohli’s first game of the international stage in Dambulla, he opened the innings but couldn’t get going beyond his 12-run knock in 22 deliveries with the help of one boundary. The whole batting order struggled against the mystery spinner, Ajantha Mendis, who picked up three wickets in nine overs, giving away only 21 runs.
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The same story continued in the same game as Mendis claimed an excellent figure of 2/22 in ten overs, including one maiden. The Delhi-born looked stable in the crease for his 37-run knock in 67 balls, which came on the back of six boundaries. Even in a small chase of 143 runs, they lost seven wickets and somehow managed to get over the line.
After the washout in the third game of the series, the teams reached Colombo, where Virat Kohli displayed his skills with the bat in hand and notched up his maiden half-century for the Blue Brigade. The 54-run knock came in 66 balls, shouldering on seven boundaries at a strike rate of 81.81.
Harbhajan Singh, who was part of all five games of the series, praised the way a 20-year-old Kohli understood the situation of the games and tackled Mendis then when the bowler was quite hard to get picked by some of the best batters against spin.
On the YouTube channel of Taruwar Kohli, the off-spinner addressed Virat Kohli as a ‘Dada’ player and touched on how he predicted the success of the batter in the coming future.
“Virat Kohli is a Dada player. I remember when he came into the Indian team for the first time, everyone was struggling against Mendis, then Kohli played against him, and that time I realized, He is gonna be a big player in the future.” The Chandigarh-born shared his view.
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In the recent ODI World Cup 2023 at home, where India finished as the runners-up after their defeat against Australia, the 35-year-old finished as the highest run-scorer of the event, with 765 runs in 11 innings at an average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.31, thanks to his three centuries and six half-centuries with a best score of 117.
Virat Kohli will look to become the second Indian batter to edge past the 14k mark in the 50-over format when he faces England for a three-match series at home in February 2025 before turning the focus on the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.