WATCH: 'Great servant of Indian cricket..' - KL Rahul praises Virat Kohli before his 300th ODI

Ahead of Sunday's 2025 Champions Trophy match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Indian middle-order batsman KL Rahul claimed words cannot explain Kohli's impact on cricket. In his 300th ODI appearance, Kohli will be playing against New Zealand for the first time. Having always admired Kohli as a "vital senior player," Rahul wished him "many more" hundreds. 

When it comes to Indian men's cricket history, Virat Kohli has the seventh-most ODI caps. The 300-ODI club will include Yuvraj Singh, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, and Sachin Tendulkar if he plays against New Zealand. Given that they are all hitters, Kohli has the most hundreds (51), as well as the greatest batting average (58.20). In this club, he is only surpassed by Sachin Tendulkar in terms of runs. 

“That's (300) a lot of ODI matches. Words fall short of expressing how good a player he has been and what a great servant of Indian cricket he has been. Really happy to see that he got a hundred in the last game as well, and (he is) batting really well. For a player of his caliber, it was about time that he scored that big and a match-winning century,” KL Rahul stated this during a news conference before India's last Group B game.

Watch the video here:

KL Rahul on Virat Kohli's legacy in ODIs.

- Kohli will be playing his 300th ODI.pic.twitter.com/1y7yABkT1a

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 1, 2025

Virat is a crucial member of the squad - KL Rahul

In addition to wishing the two senior Indian players "many more" hundreds, the player also addressed Rohit Sharma, saying that the dressing room "looks up to" the pair during important games. Naturally, Virat is a crucial member of the squad. Because of their many years of success, we always expect Virat and Rohit Sharma to stand up and score in crucial games. "Hopefully, there are still a lot of games and hundreds left in them," Rahul said.

With an unbeaten 100 against Pakistan, Kohli will look to build on his recent success against New Zealand on Sunday. In the semi-final in Dubai, India will face the second-place team from Group B after winning this match and securing the top spot in the Group A standings.