 "Virat Kohli's 500th match: A look at major milestones of his journey")
India's premier batter Virat Kohli will play his 500th international match on Thursday (July 20, 2023) when he will take the field for India vs West Indies' second Test in Port of Spain. Kohli will become only the fourth Indian after Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid to represent India in 500 international matches. Overall, he is the 10th cricketer worldwide to achieve the milestone.
Players with more than 500 international matches for India
| Player | Matches | Runs | Centuries | Fifties |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 664 | 34,357 | 100 | 164 |
| MS Dhoni | 538 | 17266 | 16 | 108 |
| Rahul Dravid | 509 | 24208 | 48 | 146 |
Players (Non-Indian) with more than 500 international matches
| Player | Country | Matches | Runs | Wickets | Hundreds | Fifties |
| Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 652 | 25957 | 14 | 54 | 136 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 594 | 28016 | 00 | 63 | 153 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 586 | 21032 | 440 | 42 | 103 |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 560 | 27483 | 08 | 71 | 146 |
| Shahid Afridi | Pakistan | 524 | 11196 | 541 | 11 | 51 |
| Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 519 | 25534 | 577 | 62 | 149 |
Rahul Dravid on Virat Kohli's 500th International match
Kohli, 34, is one of the most popular global cricketers. He is however going through a lean patch. The former India captain has scored only one Test century since November 2019. His only century also came on a flat deck in Ahmedabad against Australia.
However, the records he has created in his 15-year-old career speak highly of the Delhi-born cricketer. It’s not only the records, even fellow cricketers and the Indian cricket team’s national coach Rahul Dravid believes that Kohli is an inspiration.
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“You don’t have to say anything. Just by the way you conduct yourself, the way you go about practices, your fitness, [that] becomes an inspiration for a lot of other young players who are coming through the system. Hopefully, they follow that and they are inspired by Virat to play so many games,” Dravid said on the eve of India vs West Indies 2nd Test.
“Longevity comes with a lot of hard work, discipline, and adaptability. He’s shown all of that, so long may it continue," the Indian coach wished for Kohli.
Dravid, who has also played more than 500 international matches for India himself, feels that the effort that Kohli makes after the end of every match and before the start of another one is something that has pushed him to the greatness that he has achieved so far.
"The effort and work that he puts in behind the scene when no one is watching is incredible. I think that has carried him to play 500 games, he is very fit and still going very strong. That's not easy, he has made a lot of sacrifices and put in a lot of hard work,” Dravid added.
Virat Kohli’s Career Stats
| . | Tests | ODIs | T20Is |
| Matches | 110 | 274 | 115 |
| Runs | 8555 | 12898 | 4008 |
| Average | 48.88 | 57.32 | 52.73 |
| Centuries | 28 | 46 | 01 |
| Fifties | 29 | 65 | 37 |
| Strikae Rate | 55.18 | 93.62 | 137.96 |
| Wickets | 00 | 04 | 04 |
Other notable achievements of Virat Kohli in numbers
7- Most Double centuries for India
8555- Fifth in the list of most-runs in Tests for India
12898- Second in the list of highest ODI run-getters for India
12898- Second in the list of highest ODI run-getters for India
4008- Leading run-scorer in T20Is in the world
25461- Second-highest run scorer in the history of international cricket
75- Second highest in the list of most-centuries by a player in international cricket
75- Second highest in the list of most-centuries by a player in international cricket