“He can achieve anything he wants to achieve” - Clive Lloyd on whether Virat Kohli can break Sachin Tendulkar's record of 100 centuries
Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd reckons that Virat Kohli can surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 100 international centuries. Praising Kohli, the former Windies cricketer said that the way he is batting, he can achieve anything.
Kohli, 35, is second on the list of batters with the most hundreds in international cricket. In 520 matches across formats, he has notched up 80 tons. Tendulkar tops the list with 100 centuries from 664 matches.
In a recent event in Kolkata, Lloyd was asked for his views on the chances of Kohli going past Tendulkar’s record of international hundreds.
"I do not know about the period, but he is young enough, and I am sure that the way he is playing he can achieve anything he wants to achieve, and it would be something to be quite happy to achieve," Lloyd was quoted as saying by the Times of India in response to the query.
Kohli had a sensational ODI World Cup in India last year, smashing a record 765 runs in 11 innings at an average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.32 with three hundreds and six fifties.
In the semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai, he surpassed Tendulkar’s tally of 49 ODI tons, becoming the first batter to notch up 50 hundreds in Men’s one-day internationals.
Brian Lara unsure of whether Virat Kohli can break Sachin Tendulkar’s record
Before Lloyd, another West Indian batting legend Brian Lara had shared a different view on the chances of Kohli surpassing Tendulkar’s record of 100 international tons. He stated that scoring 20 hundreds seems a fair bit away considering Kohli is 35.
"How old is Kohli now? 35, right? He has 80 but still needs 20. If he scores five centuries every year he'd need four more years to equal Tendulkar. Kohli will be 39 then. Tough job, very tough job," Lara told Anandabazar Patrika.
"Can't say with certainty, no one can. Those saying Kohli will break Tendulkar's 100-centuries record won't be taking cricketing logic into account. 20 centuries seem a long way away. Most cricketers can't score that in their entire career. I won't be adventurous and say Kohli will do it. Age doesn't stop for anyone," the former West Indies captain went on to add.
Kohli is currently the fourth-leading run-getter in international cricket with 26,704 runs in 520 matches with 80 tons and 139 fifties.