Virat Kohli smashed a century on Tuesday in the first ODI match against Sri Lanka in Guwahati. This was Virat’s 73rd century in international cricket and 45th in the ODI format of the game. With this century, Virat has matched Sachin Tendulkar‘s record of 20 ODI hundreds in India.
Former Indian Cricketer Gautam Gambhir said we should not compare Virat with Sachin as both played in different eras. He said that Virat will score many more centuries than the master blaster in ODIs. He also admitted that Virat is a master of the 50-over format and he is very consistent in it.
“It’s not about the record honestly. Virat Kohli will go on to get many more centuries than Sachin Tendulkar in the 50-overs format. See, the rules have changed. You should not compare eras. It’s not fair to compare eras as well where there was one new ball as compared to now when there are 2 new balls with five fielders inside. But yes, he has been a master in this format and he has shown it over such a long period of time,” Gambhir said on a show on Star Sports.
He is not going there from ball no.1: Sanjay Manjrekar
Another former Indian Cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar shared his opinion on the Virat-Sachin debate and said that Virat played most of his cricket batting at no.3, while Sachin was an opener, which makes Virat’s records more special. He said Virat will break Sachin’s record in a year.
“He is not an opener so in every 50-overs game, he is not going there from ball number 1 and you are looking at the whole innings to get a hundred. He has batted at 3 most of the time so that is something you have got to consider. I have no doubt that he will overtake Tendulkar in one-day hundreds. I mean, it’s just four hundred to equal Tendulkar. It may happen in a year and a half. It’s a 50-over World Cup year so I believe it could happen,” Manjrekar added to Gambhir’s take during the same show.
