What if Virat Kohli played before the dawn of ODI cricket?
Take out Virat Kohli from an ODI team and that’s equivalent to weakening a side by 50% no matter how much stronger the other players are. Can’t imagine an Indian team without Virat Kohli? This is exactly how Kohli has positioned himself in the minds of his fans.
Kohli has crafted himself into an indispensable part of Indian cricket, especially in the limited overs formats. But what if the Delhi batsman wasn’t a part of this generation and belonged to the era of Sunil Gavaskar or a Vinoo Mankad and played before ODI cricket came into existence?
In that case, India wouldn’t have had the luxury of a Virat Kohli in 2017, but would have been positive for India’s growth as a team. We take a look at what would have happened had Kohli’s career ended before the commencement of ODI cricket.
#5 Sachin Tendulkar wouldn’t have had a competitor for his ODI tons
In the modern era of cricket, records tumble at the rate of knots and the bar seems to get raised by the day. While a double century in ODI’s was an incredibly difficult task a couple of decades ago, the same has turned pretty much a regular fixture now.
Sachin Tendulkar’s number of tons in ODIs was a mountain to climb and it still is, but Virat Kohli has made a mockery of the record. With 27 tons in his kitty, he is 22 away from the master and with age on his side, the possibility of overhauling the record can’t be ruled out.
Kohli recently equalled Sachin’s record of most centuries in run chases (17), and with the kind of form he has displayed over the years, he is set for many such achievements.