Harbhajan Singh has revealed how he backed and motivated Virat Kohli to surpass Rahul Dravid’s international run tally. The former India off-spinner recalled his conversation with Kohli when the young batter was establishing himself on the international stage, offering insight into how early encouragement shaped one of cricket’s greatest careers.
Kohli launched his international career in 2008 against Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series. The young batter showed considerable promise from the outset, accumulating 159 runs across the five matches and converting one opportunity into a half-century in the fourth ODI. India won the series 3-2.
Harbhajan Singh recalled his conversation with Kohli when the young batter was establishing himself on the international stage. The former off-spinner’s words to Kohli during his debut series reflected the scale of the challenge ahead and the expectations placed upon him.
“He had a lot of talent, but I wasn’t sure he would do what he has gone on to do. I remember in 2008 he immediately scored a half-century when Ajantha Mendis was unplayable. At that time, I told him that if he didn’t break Rahul Dravid’s numbers, he wouldn’t have justified his talent. There was a huge change in Kohli in just two years. His hunger and desire to win were different,” Harbhajan said on Prakhar Gupta podcast.
Dravid ended his international career with 24,208 runs from 509 matches across all formats. At the time of Kohli’s debut, Dravid’s record stood as a significant benchmark for any aspiring Indian batter.
“The improvement in fitness levels in Indian cricket should be credited fully to Kohli. No one takes Indian cricket’s fielding lightly anymore, and that’s a credit to Virat Kohli and his team. He changed the entire system of fitness. And his hunger is still the same: to be the one to win the match for India. He’s so passionate, and that’s the difference between him and everyone else,” said Harbhajan.
Kohli has since amassed 28,527 runs across all formats and remains active in ODI cricket. He has overtaken Dravid’s tally and now stands behind only Sachin Tendulkar for most runs by an Indian batter in international cricket. The transformation from the promising debutant to one of the sport’s greatest run-scorers has been remarkable.
Kohli featured in the upcoming five-match ODI series against New Zealand, beginning on November 4. The series marked another chapter in his continued pursuit of excellence at the international level.