New Delhi: One of the greatest of all time and arguably India’s most prolific batters across formats ever since his debut in 2008, Virat Kohli announced his shock retirement from Test cricket on Monday, May 12. Kohli drew curtains on his illustrious red-ball career spanning over 14 years for India, which was filled with numerous ups and downs and some glorious moments that would remain etched in the memories of millions of Indian fans.
With Kohli walking into the Test sunset, no batter in the world can even come close to touching the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 100 centuries in international cricket is likely to remain invincible for at least the distant future. Kohli was the only active batter who was close to breaking Tendulkar’s record for most tons by any batter in international cricket, but his Test retirement has pushed the record far from his reach.
Kohli currently has 81 centuries to his name and needs another 19 to match Tendulkar’s incredible feat. However, with just one format to play, it will be a near-impossible task for even a batter of Kohli’s calibre to score 19 hundreds in ODIs in the next 2-3 years. Kohli had retired from T20Is after India’s T20 World Cup triumph last year before quitting Tests on Monday.
Having left two formats to possibly prolong his ODI career, where he has been at his prolific best despite having suffered a dip in Tests in the recent past, Kohli would be eyeing the 2027 ODI World Cup and is likely to last till the showpiece event given his credentials. However, India will play only 27 ODIs in the build-up to the World Cup, barring any last-minute changes.
It will thus be incredibly difficult for Kohli to touch Tendulkar’s 100 centuries feat with limited games in hand. While Kohli has notched up 82 centuries in 550 international matches for India, Sachin slammed 100 tons in a total of 663 matches. Kohli has 51 centuries to his name in ODIs, 30 in Tests and one in T20Is, while Sachin scored 51 centuries in Tests and 49 in ODIs.
Virat Kohli 2nd on the list of batters with most centuries in intl cricket
An undisputed modern-day great, Kohli is second on the elite list of batters with most centuries in international cricket with 82 tons to his name across formats, behind only the Master Blaster, who is the only man to have scored a ton of hundreds in international cricket. Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting is in the 3rd spot with 71 tons to his name.
The next best Indian after Kohli on the list is former India Test captain Rohit Sharma, who has 49 centuries to his name. Rohit too announced his retirement from Tests last week after being informed that the board was planning to sack him as captain in the longest format ahead of the England series. Kohli followed him into Test retirement within a week on Monday.
With Virat Kohli drawing curtains on his illustrious Test career on Monday, there remains no one among the active batters who can even get close to breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s ultimate record of 100 centuries in international cricket. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
