Can Virat Kohli chase Sachin Tendulkar’s iconic 100-century landmark before retirement? This breakdown examines Kohli’s present type, remaining years, match frequency and codecs to evaluate how life like the pursuit of cricket’s rarest milestone really is.
A dream that appeared to have concluded following his momentary retirement has been revived, as followers are as soon as once more crammed with hope that Virat Kohli can obtain the milestone of 100 worldwide centuries before he says farewell to ODI cricket, following his exceptional comeback with consecutive centuries towards South Africa. Despite media hypothesis suggesting that the Indian staff administration doesn’t envision Kohli and Rohit Sharma as a part of their plans for the 2027 World Cup, the enduring pair have allowed their performances to talk for themselves, resulting in the affordable assumption that each will proceed taking part in ODI cricket till the grand occasion, which is ready to happen in almost two years.
At current, Kohli boasts 84 worldwide centuries, simply 16 shy of Tendulkar’s coveted report. Notably, other than these two Indian batting legends, no different participant has surpassed 70 centuries, with Ricky Ponting rating third on the all-time listing. Throughout his illustrious profession, Tendulkar accrued 51 Test centuries and 49 ODI tons. In distinction, Kohli has achieved 53 ODI centuries, alongside 30 Test centuries and one three-figure rating in T20Is.
India has one remaining ODI match in 2025, which would be the third sport of the present collection on Saturday (December 6). Starting in 2026, the variety of ODIs is predicted to rise considerably. As it stands, India is slated to play 21 ODIs before the 2027 IPL, in accordance with the Future Tour Programme. Additionally, India’s tour to Bangladesh, initially scheduled for 2025, has been postponed to 2026.
The 2027 ODI World Cup is ready to happen in October-November 2027, the place India might doubtlessly play 10-11 matches within the 14-team format, ought to they advance to the ultimate. Prior to that, the Men in Blue will compete within the Asia Cup, the place they might play six matches in the event that they attain the ultimate.
It is vital to notice that the Future Tour Programme has solely been introduced as much as March 2027, and India might have extra ODIs before the World Cup.
Kohli is now simply 16 centuries away from reaching the exceptional milestone of 100 centuries, which interprets to a median of 2-3 centuries per match. Throughout his profession, he has amassed 53 centuries in 307 ODIs, spanning 295 innings. This ends in a formidable fee of 5.73 centuries per match and 5.56 per innings. To attain the coveted 100-century mark, the Indian cricket icon might want to almost double his present century fee as he approaches the tip of his profession.
Between 2016 and 2018, a interval typically thought-about Kohli’s prime, he scored 15 centuries in simply 50 matches, averaging 3.33 centuries per innings. If the 37-year-old can replicate this efficiency, he might come very near the milestone.
Since December 2022, when Kohli ended a 3.5-year century drought in ODIs towards Bangladesh, he has recorded 10 centuries in solely 45 matches, averaging 4.5 centuries per innings. This tempo exceeds his profession common, however he might want to additional enhance it to achieve his aim.
With a participant of Kohli’s caliber, the probabilities are infinite, and dismissing the prospect of reaching the 100-century mark could be unwise. However, it stays a difficult goal which will appear out of attain.
Also learn| ‘Masti mat karo, agar unka dimaag…’: Ravi Shastri fires sturdy warning amid criticism and mishandling of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli
