Virat Kohli will have history in his sights as he makes a return to Test cricket in India’s two-match series against Bangladesh, starting September 19.
The former Indian captain has been absent from red-ball cricket for nine months, missing the five-match Test series against England earlier this year due to personal reasons.
With his remarkable career nearing a significant milestone, Kohli stands just 58 runs away from surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s legendary record, positioning himself for a historic achievement in international cricket.
Kohli’s comeback comes ahead of a busy schedule for the Indian team, which will face Australia in a blockbuster five-match Test series away.
Before that, India will host Bangladesh and New Zealand in what promises to be a demanding home season.
The Indian team, having reached the final twice before, will aim to secure a place in their third consecutive final.
At 35 years old, Kohli is on the brink of multiple record-breaking achievements. He is just 58 runs short of reaching 27,000 runs in international cricket. If he achieves this, he will surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s record and become the quickest player to reach this milestone.
Kohli would join the ranks of cricketing greats Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara, and Ricky Ponting as only the fourth player in history to achieve this feat.
Notably, Kohli holds the record for being the fastest to reach various run milestones, including 16,000 through to 26,000 runs in international cricket.
In addition, Kohli needs only 152 runs to become the fourth Indian to accumulate 9,000 runs in Test cricket.
If he achieves this in his first outing of the series, he will share the record with Sunil Gavaskar, who reached the milestone in 192 innings.
Kohli has batted 191 times in Test cricket so far, and while he is on track to be the slowest Indian to reach this milestone, his achievement will be significant as he would be the first player from the 21st century to do so.
He will become the first cricketer in the 147-year history of international cricket to reach 27,000 runs in fewer than 600 innings.Kohli’s return is eagerly anticipated as he stands on the verge of making substantial history in Test cricket.
