New Delhi: Legendary West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards heaped praise on Indian batter Virat Kohli’s passion and fitness for the game and opined that the player can continue to play at the age of 50. The 72-year-old former player also gave his views on the possibility of Kohli breaking a couple of records held by iconic Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar.
Kohli played his 300th One-Day International match against New Zealand on Sunday in India’s final group stage fixture in Dubai. The Delhi-born player has been the lynchpin of the Indian batting unit for over a decade-and-a-half.
Though he has retired from T20I cricket last year, Kohli continues to play the longer version of the game such as Test and ODI formats. Kohli started the Champions Trophy with 22 runs against Bangladesh but made a big statement with an unbeaten century (100*) against Pakistan in a thrilling fashion. It was his 51st ODI hundred in his illustrious career.
Richards, who has been a long-time admirer of the Indian player, said that it is possible that Kohli could prolong his international cricket career as far as he attains the age of 50. While speaking on the sidelines of the International Masters League, Richards, who is the league’s governing council member, said:
“Just the way he is fit and passionate about the game, you never know you could still see him playing his 50. He scored a hundred recently against Pakistan in Dubai.”
He added:
“This suggests he is very much in best of form and there are times when you are going to have failure. But seeing the way he comes back from failure. That’s the tribute to the individual. Passion for the game itself.”
Richards further added that Kohli can possibly break the record of Sachin Tendulkar’s 100 international centuries and his overall ODI tally (18,426) if the 36-year-old goes on to play for more years.
Legendary cricketer Vivian Richards lauded Virat Kohli’s fitness and passion, suggesting he could play until 50. Richards also believes Kohli can surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 100 international centuries and overall ODI runs. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
