Virat Kohli will return to the Indian team for the upcoming series of ODIs against Australia with the first game starting in Perth.

This will be his first match since India’s successful ICC Champions Trophy tour, where he scored 218 runs in five games, including a century against Pakistan and a vital 84 in the semifinal game against Australia.

Now 36, Kohli is on the brink of setting a number of historic records in ODI and limited-overs cricket. He is only 54 runs away from overhauling Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara and becoming the second-highest run-getter in ODI cricket. Kohli has already scored 14,181 runs in 302 ODIs (290 innings) at a batting average of 57.88 with 51 centuries and 74 half-centuries to his name.

In limited-overs cricket overall, Kohli has only 68 runs left before he surpasses Sachin Tendulkar’s total of 18,436 runs combined. Kohli has 18,369 runs currently to his name — 14,181 runs in ODIs and 4,188 runs in T20Is.

Another century would witness Kohli shatter another of Tendulkar’s records — the highest number of hundreds in a particular format. Both legends now stand equal on 51 centuries, with the latter having done it in Tests and the former in ODIs.

Kohli is also a century away from claiming the record for the highest number of centuries by an Asian batsman in foreign conditions. His next hundred would be his 30th overseas, breaking Tendulkar’s record of 29.The tour of Australia not only presents Kohli with the opportunity to make his name even more etched in the record books but also sets him on his way to the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup.