Virat Kohli might now be holding the record for most ODI hundreds, but former India head coach Ravi Shastri firmly believed that the 35-year-old is well on his way to break another big landmark — Sachin Tendulkar’s 100 international hundreds.
While speaking in the ICC Review, Shastri feels that ruling out Virat Kohli’s chances of matching Sachin Tendulkar’s elusive record is still achievable.
Looking to Sachin Tendulkar Tendulkar’s figure of 100 centuries, a number many believed would never be matched, Ravi Shastri believes it would be foolish to rule Kohli out from matching his compatriot
“Who would have thought when Sachin Tendulkar got 100 hundreds that anyone would come close and he’s got 80, 80 international hundreds, 50 of them in the one-day game and which makes him the highest. Unreal,” said Ravi Shastri during The ICC Review.
“Nothing’s impossible because such players, when they start reeling off hundreds, then they score them pretty quickly. His next 10 innings, you might see another five hundreds.
“You have three formats of the game and he’s part of all those formats.
“To think that he still has three or four years of cricket ahead of him is simply mind-boggling.”
Ravi Shastri was also in awe of Virat Kohli’s ability to soak in the pressure.
Stringent in his diet, and working through a regiment cardio and fitness program, Kohli’s preparation means he can eke out runs with his legs, rather than just dealing in boundaries, according to Ravi Shastri.
“One of the features of his batting has been his running between the wickets. The fact that he doesn’t have to hit boundaries and sixes, he can run hard between the wickets because of his physical fitness,” Shastri said.
“That takes the pressure off him. Even when he’s not getting the boundaries, he’s still rotating the strike.
“And he always has that uncanny ability of making it up towards the back end of the innings.”
Shastri looked at a combination of mental shifts, technical tinkering and an emphasis on fitness in the great batter’s meticulous preparation.
“It’s a mix of all three,” he noted.
“(It) gives him some time, to be calm and composed at the beginning of the innings.
“His shot selection in the first 10, 15 runs, he doesn’t take that extra risk. He’s quite prepared to leave deliveries, knock the ball around.”
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Updated: 16 Nov 2023, 02:53 PM IST