Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra said it would be difficult for Virat Kohli to complete 100 centuries across all formats. Kohli is currently only playing in the ODIs after he announced his retirement from T20Is and Test cricket.
It was recently reported that Kohli could return to Test cricket after India suffered a 0-2 whitewash against South Africa but the veteran batter denied such claims. Chopra reckons Kohli will need to either return to the red-ball version or continue playing after the 2027 ODI World Cup to match Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 100 centuries.
Meanwhile, Kohli scored a fine knock of 102 runs off just 93 balls as he continued his rich form. Kohli has now scored 53 ODI centuries and this was his 84th International ton.
This is the 11th time in Kohli’s ODI career when he has scored back-to-back centuries. Earlier on Sunday, Kohli had scored a match-winning knock of 135 runs off just 120 balls at Ranchi and played a key role in India’s 17-run win.
“The big question is whether Kohli can score 100 centuries. He is 16 centuries away. He has scored back-to-back centuries, so it seems he will keep scoring and won’t stop. He can still play 35 to 40 matches by the end of the World Cup. So it seems like he should score them easily. Score a century in every second match, as he is scoring a century every day currently,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“It won’t be that easy. There is no doubt that they can be scored, but it’s extremely difficult. If he has to chase 100 centuries, either he will have to come back from some retirement, that he would also play red-ball cricket now, or else he might have to play even after the World Cup,” he added.
Chopra said Kohli won’t be able to score a century after every second match.
“For now, it seems like he will keep scoring a hundred in every match, but his career of more than 300 games says that he scores a hundred in every fifth or sixth inning. It can’t be scored in every second inning,” he said.
The third and final ODI between India and South Africa will be played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, on Saturday.
