Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian batter, predicted that Virat Kohli would eventually score 100 centuries for his country if he could play until he turned 40. Given Kohli’s remarkable fitness, the famous batsman said he wouldn’t be surprised if he played for 5–6 more years.
Sunil Gavaskar expressed his confidence that Virat Kohli will be able to reach 100 international hundreds if he keeps up his desire to score large and love for the game in a statement to India Today following Kohli’s 46th ODI century
With three ODI hundreds in his previous four innings in the 50-over version of the game, Virat Kohli increased his total number of international hundreds to 74. In Bangladesh in December 2022, Kohli broke a three-year streak of scoring an ODI hundred, and since then, there has been no turning back. In Ahmedabad, Kohli scored 113 against Sri Lanka to start the new year. On January 15, India defeated Pakistan by 317 runs in Thiruvananthapuram after Kohli produced his second-highest ODI total of 166 not out in the third ODI. Kohli struggled to get going, getting out for 4 in the second ODI.
Kohli needs 26 more centuries to reach Sachin’s hundred of hundreds. Speaking to it, former Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar said, “In case he plays, 5 or 6 years, he will get to the 100. There’s no doubt about it. His average is about 6-6 hundred a year. So if that happens, then surely he can add another 26 hundred in the next 5-6 years, if he plays till 40.”
He further added, “Sachin Tendulkar also played till his 40s and he had kept his fitness. Kohli is very aware of his fitness. He is still the fastest runner between wickets in this Indian team. Only when MSD was there, you could say, MS Dhoni was as quick, if not quicker. Today, at this age, he beats the youngsters hands down. Converting 1s into 2s, and 2s into 3s, he is an absolute champion at that. And not just his runs, but for his partners as well.”
“So with that kind of fitness, for him to play till 40 would not be a surprise at all,” Gavaskar added.
In the six months before the ODI World Cup 2023, Kohli, who has four international hundreds to his account, has reached the pinnacle of his white-ball form. Kohli is just 3 hundred away from Sachin Tendulkar’s 49-hundred ODI record.
