Virat Kohli had made his international debut on August 18, 2008. It has been 16 years since Virat Kohli made his debut in international cricket and in this time, he has established himself as one of the all-time greats of the sport. Such has been Virat Kohli’s achievements that players who were senior to him in the early years of his career have paid tribute to him whenever he broke a major batting record in recent years.
Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik congratulated former teammate Virat Kohli for completing 16 years in international cricket. On August 18, 2008, Virat Kohli made his debut against Sri Lanka at Dambulla.
Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik international careers in years.
Karthik himself had made his debut in September 2004 and was a T20 World Cup winner by the time Virat Kohli made his international debut. He, however, played a number of matches under Kohli’s captaincy at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Karthik also played seven T20Is, 25 ODIs and two Test matches under Kohli’s captaincy for India.
Virat Kohli’s international debut came in an ODI against Sri Lanka on August 18, 2008 in Dambulla. Virat Kohli then made his T20I debut on June 12, 2010 against Zimbabwe in Harare and his first Test match was against the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica in June 20.
Virat Kohli had won the 2011 World Cup but he ended up missing out on big titles throughout his time as India captain between 2014 and 2021. His drought of big titles only ended this year when India dramatically won the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. He played three ODIs against Sri Lanka since then and it was speculated that he would make a surprise appearance in the Duleep Trophy.
On his ODI debut, Virat Kohli opened the innings alongside current head coach Gautam Gambhir. While Gambhir departed for a two-ball duck, Kohli scored 12 runs from 22 balls. He was dismissed by Nuwan Kulasekara. India got bowled out for 146 and lost the match by eight wickets.
In T20Is, he made his debut against Zimbabwe and scored 26 runs from 21 balls not out. India won the match by six wickets. In Test cricket, he made his debut in 2011 against West Indies. He batted in the middle-order and contributed with scores of 4 and 15. He was dismissed by Fidel Edwards in both innings. India won the game by 63 runs.
Former Indian wicket keeper Dinesh Karthik has congratulated Virat Kohli on his success and wishes him all the best for his future.
Dinesh Karthik wishes Virat Kohli as the star batter completes 16 years in international cricket
Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik shared a post on X on Tuesday, August 20, to congratulate Virat Kohli on completing 16 years in international cricket. Kohli reached the milestone on Sunday, August 18.
Karthik was last seen in action during IPL 2024. On June 1, he announced his retirement but signed with the Paarl Royals earlier this month for the upcoming season of SA20.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, who last played in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, made his international debut against the same opposition in 2008. Since then, Kohli has established himself as one of cricket’s all-time greats. The Delhi cricketer has represented the nation in 533 matches, scoring 26,942 runs, including 80 centuries and 140 fifties.
Celebrating the occasion, Dinesh Karthik took to X to share a message for the former Indian captain. He wrote:
“Happy to have played with you skipper. 16 years and the fire burns bright.”
Karthik played seven T20Is, 25 ODIs, and two Tests under Virat Kohli’s captaincy. Additionally, he has played under Kohli’s leadership in the Indian Premier League. In the upcoming season, Karthik will join Kohli at RCB, not as a player but in the role of a mentor.
Dinesh Karthik signs with Paarl Royals for SA20
Dinesh Karthik is set to make history as the first Indian player to compete in the South African T20 league, SA20. With extensive experience in the shortest format of the game, the 39-year-old will bring a seasoned perspective to the league. Reflecting on his chance to play for the Paarl Royals, Karthik said:
“I have so many fond memories of playing in and visiting South Africa, and when this opportunity came about, I couldn’t say no because of how special it would be to come back to playing competitive cricket and win this incredible competition with the Royals.”
“Even though I didn’t have the chance to represent the Royals in the IPL, to me it was always a franchise setup and environment that was very attractive as a player. I am delighted to be joining the Paarl Royals team which oozes a lot of experience, quality and potential. I am certainly looking forward to joining the group and contributing to what should be an exciting season,” Karthik continued (as quoted by Cricbuzz).
Dinesh Karthik has featured in 401 T20 matches throughout his career, amassing 7,407 runs and hitting 34 half-centuries. After hanging his boots, Karthik has been roped in as RCB’s mentor-cum-batting coach. He will help Kohli and others in the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Tamil Nadu player also promised the fans that RCB will soon win their maiden IPL trophy.