With Virat Kohli regularly slamming centuries in ODIs, former captain Sunil Gavaskar on Thursday said the Indian batting sensation can break retiring legend Sachin Tendulkar’s record number of tons in the 50-over format.
In the 112 ODI innings he has played so far, Kohli has scored 4919 runs with 17 centuries while Tendulkar at the same number of innings had scored 4001 runs with eight tons.
At the rate the youngster is scoring centuries currently, Gavaskar said Kohli can break Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds.
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“Records are meant to be broken. While we know that some of Tendulkar’s records are well nigh impossible to be able to get like 200 Test matches, nor anybody can reach 51 Test hundreds.
“But the manner in which Virat is batting, the record for (Tendulkar’s) 49 hundreds looks possible. Now Virat needs 32 more hundreds to go and the number of ODIs Indians play he can do it. This cricketing season itself, Virat can get to 20 or 22 hundreds,” Gavaskar told ‘ NDTV ’
In a span of just 15 days in the ongoing seven-match ODI series against Australia, Kohli smashed two of the three fastest hundreds by an Indian to help the home side level the series 2-2.
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On October 16, he scored the fastest century by an Indian off just 52 balls in the second ODI against Australia before hitting the third fastest ton in 61 balls in the sixth ODI on Wednesday.
Asked if Kohli can take Tendulkar’s place in the Indian team after the senior batsman retires next month, Gavaskar said, “I think Virat has been simply outstanding. If you compare the statistics with what Sachin had achieved after 115 ODI games, you’ll find that Virat is well ahead. I think Sachin took around 80—odd ODIs to get his first hundred.”
He said Kohli was fortunate to have played alongside greats such as Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman early in his career.