"Congratulations to the King" BCCI Secretary Jay Shah hails Virat Kohli on 16th anniversary of international debut

Virat Kohli has completed 16 years in international cricket and received a congratulatory tweet from the BCCI secretary.

16 years ago, on August 18, 19-year-old Virat Kohli stepped into the international arena for the first time. The rest, as they say, is history.

Not many predicted how successful he would become. But here he is after 16 years, the biggest cricketing icon of his generation. His stats and records across all three formats speak volumes about his stature in international cricket.

Several former cricketers, cricket pundits, and fans congratulated the former Indian captain for a successful career. The wishes pour from different parts of the world, including BCCI secretary Jay Shah.

Jay Shah congratulates Virat Kohli on completing 16 years in International Cricket

Jay Shah took to his Twitter (now X) handle and congratulated Virat Kohli on his 16th anniversary of his international debut.

Shah wrote, “16 years ago today, a 19-year-old Virat Kohli stepped onto the international stage for the first time, marking the beginning of what has become a truly legendary career. Congratulations to the King on completing 16 years in international cricket!”

16 years ago today, a 19-year-old @imVkohli stepped onto the international stage for the first time, marking the beginning of what has become a truly legendary career. Congratulations to the King on completing 16 years in international cricket! pic.twitter.com/Q6U17q6nP1

— Jay Shah (@JayShah) August 18, 2024

Kohli made his debut in August 2008 in an ODI against Sri Lanka. He made his Test debut against West Indies in June 2011, while his first T20I was against Zimbabwe in June 2010. He is currently the fourth-highest run scorer in international cricket, with 26942 runs in 533 matches.

Kohli has played 113 Tests, 295 ODIs and 125 T20Is and scored 8848, 13906, and 4188 runs, respectively. He has recorded 80 international centuries, which is the second-most after Sachin Tendulkar (100).

Virat Kohli has won ICC Cricketer of Decade (2011-20), ICC Cricketer of the Year 2017 & 2018; he is four-time ICC ODI Player of the Year, in 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2023, and ICC Test Player of the Year in 2018 along with other innumerable accolades.

He has won both the ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup. He retired from T20Is in June this year.

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