'His numbers and his stats speak for themselves': Rahul Dravid on Virat Kohli

Reflecting on the legacy of superstar batter Virat Kohli ahead of his landmark 500th international match India head coach Rahul Dravid hailed the former India captain as an inspiration for many cricketers due to his enormous achievements and work ethicKohli will join Sachin Tendulkar Dravid himself and MS Dhoni as the fourth Indian to play 500 international matches in the second and final Test against the West Indies beginning at the Queens Park Oval here on ThursdayHis Kohlis numbers and his stats speak for themselves its all there in the books He is a real inspiration to so many players within this team without a doubt and to so many people boys and girls back home in India Dravid said on the eve of the TestIts a nice to see Virats journey When I first played he was a youngster coming through I was not really involved in the team as such I watched him from the outside with a lot of admiration for what he has done and what he continues to achieveAlso Read 500 not out Virat Kohlis career in numbers ahead of IND vs WI 2nd TestDravid said Kohlis longevity and achievements in all the three formats was a result of behind the scene sacrifices and hardworkI didnt know that this is his 500th game For me what has been great is to see the efforts and the work that he puts in behind the scenes when no one is watching And thats a great for a coach because a lot of young players will look to that and get inspired Thats come because of a lot of hard work behind the scenes A lot of sacrifices that he has made through his career and is willing to continue to make Longevity comes with a lot of hard work discipline and adaptability and he has shown all of that So long it may continue said DravidAfter making his debut under Dhoni in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Dambulla in August 2008 the 34yearold Kohli has come a long way He has played 110 Tests 274 ODIs and 115 T20IsHe is fifth most prolific batter in ODI history 12898 from 274 matches with 46 hundreds and the only player to have 4000plus runs in T20Is In the Test format he has scored 8555 runs from 110 matchesDravid himself a former captain and legendary batter said he does not see any signs of Kohli slowing down any time soonThat has reflected in the fact that he has been able to play 500 games is still going very strong very fit and the energy he brings to the game and being around for 1213 years now thats truly fantastic And it does not come easyYou dont have to say anything but just the way you conduct yourself the way you carry yourself the way you go about practices the way you go about your fitness becomes an inspiration for a lot of other young players who are coming to the systemDravid was part of the Indian Test team that last travelled to the West Indies in 2011 along with Kohli He however admitted that its only in recent times that their relationship has really blossomed as they spent time working with each other with a common goal for Indian cricketAnd then now to be able to get to know him a little bit over the last sort of 18 months to interact with him to get to know him personally as well its been good fun I learnt a lot from him and in a lot of ways I really enjoyed it and hope he has as well said DravidWith agency inputs