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, Kohli made his debut against Sri Lanka at Dambulla.
“Happy to have played with you Skipper (Salute emoji) 16 years and the fire still burns bright (fire emoji),” Karthik wrote on his X account with a photo of the two in India’s T20I jersey.
Kohli’s debut in all formats
On his ODI debut, Kohli opened the innings alongside current head coach Gautam Gambhir. While Gambhir departed for a two-ball duck, Kohli scoed 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.
Kohli in Karthik’s all-time ODI XI
Last week, Karthik picked India's all-time ODI XI. While Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni did not make the cut, he picked Kohli in the side.
Karthik doesn’t defend Kohli
Earlier this week, Karthik did not defend Kohli for his dismissals to Sri Lankan spinners in the ODI series which India lost 0-2. Kohli registered scores of 24, 14 and 20 respectively.
“In this series… let's admit. Be it Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or anyone else. With a slightly semi-new ball, between overs 8-30, it's hard work. Nothing to worry about. Not too many pitches work that way, but it's been a tough pitch to play spinners. I'm not going to defend Virat Kohli here, but playing spin here is very hard,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
Karthik and Kohli in RCB dressing room next year
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.
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