"Inko Bharat Ratna dena chahiye" - CSK legend's massive praise for Virat Kohli amid IPL 2025

Former Indian cricketer and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) legend Suresh Raina has heaped high praise on veteran batter Virat Kohli. The 36-year-old recently bid farewell to Test cricket on May 12, after representing the nation in 123 matches, scoring 9,230 runs, including 31 fifties and 30 centuries.

The Delhi-born batter was set to make his return on Saturday, May 17, for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their IPL 2025 match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). However, the match was abandoned because of rain.

Amid this, during a conversation on Star Sports, former cricketer Suresh Raina lavished praise on Kohli and urged the Indian government to honor him with the Bharat Ratna award. The 38-year-old said:

“Mujhe toh lagta hai, inko Bharat Ratna dena chahiye Bhartiya sarkar ko. Kyuki inhone itna achieve kiya hai Bharat ke liye. Aur mujhe lagta hai, inko ek retirement match milna chahiye tha Delhi mai. Unka ek test match hota, unki family aati, unke coachsahab aate, aur unki beti bhi aati. Itna desh ke liye karne ke baad aap communicate karo, ek match toh milna chahiye, woh bhi Virat Kohli jaise player ko. Deserve karte hai woh.”

[I feel the Indian government should award him the Bharat Ratna. Because he has achieved so much for India. And I think he should have gotten a retirement match in Delhi. There could have been a Test match for him, his family would have come, his coach would have been there, and his daughter too. After doing so much for the country, there should be communication — he deserves at least one match, especially a player like Virat Kohli. He truly deserves it].

Meanwhile, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar remains the only sportsperson to have been honored with the Bharat Ratna, which he received in 2014.

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Virat Kohli ranks third on the list of players with the most runs across formats

Virat Kohli announced his retirement from T20Is after India’s triumphant campaign in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The 36-year-old represented India in 125 T20Is, scoring 4,188 runs at an impressive average of 48.69, which included 38 half-centuries and one century.

More recently, Kohli stepped away from Test cricket after featuring in 123 matches. As a dependable middle-order batter, he amassed 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, registering 31 fifties and 30 centuries.

With his retirement from both T20Is and Tests, Kohli now remains active only in ODIs. He has played 302 ODIs so far, scoring 14,181 runs at a remarkable average of 57.88, including 74 fifties and 51 hundreds.

In total, across all formats, Kohli has played 550 international matches, accumulating 27,599 runs at an average of 52.27 — placing him third on the list of all-time highest run-scorers in international cricket, behind only Sachin Tendulkar (34,357) and Kumar Sangakkara (28,016).