Batting maestros Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli have been the heartbeat of great Indian cricket fanatics. While Tendulkar has entertained the crowds in the first decade of the 2000s, Kohli has taken the game to a whole new level in the next decade. Recently, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen weighed on Kohli’s chances of breaking Tendulkar’s record of 100 centuries.
The talismanic run-scorer has knocked 70 centuries; 43 in ODIs and 27 in Tests, in his career and is 30 tons away from touching the magic figure. With age on his side, Virat Kohli still has the time on his back to cross Sachin Tendulkar’s record. Moreover, Kohli has also hinted that he will retire from the shortest formats to extend his career.
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Recently, Kevin Pietersen opened up on the whether Kohli can go past Sachin Tendulkar and said that all depends on how the former bats. The South African-born cricketer also pointed out that with no IPL and less cricket, Sachin managed to play for a longer period of time.
“It’s difficult because of injury, the longevity of Tendulkar’s career. Tendulkar wasn’t as emotional when he was in the field and he did not carry the same sort of aggressive attitude on the field. He was a lot more relaxed. It depends on how long Virat Kohli continues to play.
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“Remember, Kohli plays all three forms of the game, plus he plays the IPL. For the majority of Sachin Tendulkar’s career, there was no T20 cricket and there was no IPL. So it all depends on how long Kohli plays for,” he said in an interview to Times Now.
Furthermore, heaping praise on the Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Kevin Pietersen called him the greatest batsman of this generation. Also statistics back Kohli’s case as he is the only batsman to average 50+ in the three formats of the game.
“No other option. It’s Virat Kohli, across all formats. He is way above everybody else,” KP signed off.