"Have 15 Centuries Away from Home": Virat Kohli responds to criticism of his five-year-long century drought outside Asia

Virat Kohli scored his 76th international century in his 500th game across formats.

It took Virat Kohli a long five years to score a test century outside Asia. The last time he did it was back in 2018 when he scored a hundred at the Adelaide Oval during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, after missing a century in the first test in Dominica, he made sure that he would not miss the opportunity the second time around. Virat Kohli smashed his 29th test ton in the second test in Trinidad.

It was a landmark game in many senses, as this was the 100th Test between India and the West Indies in history. Adding to that, Virat made his 500th appearance in international cricket across formats. Thus, the Indian run machine grabbed the opportunity with both hands and went on to become the first player to score a hundred in the 500th international match.

"Have 15 Hundred Away from Home"- Virat Kohli when asked about his century drought outside Asia

With a century in the second game, Virat Kohli has certainly gotten the monkey off his back. There was a time when he played over 100 international innings and couldn't score a hundred for nearly three years. But since scoring a hundred in the Asia Cup 2022, he has scored centuries in all three formats of the game. After the stumps on Day 2, Virat addressed the media and said that he was not worried about his century drought.

He also said that these things are for others to talk about when asked about his five-year century drought outside Asia. Virat said, "I have got 15 hundreds away from home, that’s not a bad record. I have got more hundreds away than at home. The key is to do well to the best of my ability. We haven’t played 30 matches away from home and I have got a few fifty-plus scores. I want to contribute as much as possible."

Furthermore, he also added that all these milestones will not be remembered after his retirement, but the impact he made in his career will. Virat stated, "These stats and milestones (will) mean nothing in 15 years’ time, what they will remember is if I left an impact or not." He also pointed out that fitness has always helped him stay relevant to the game for a long period of time, and playing 500 international games is a big thing, which he never imagined.