Chris Gayle tips a modern-day colossus to break Sachin’s record

West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle recently made an international comeback after a hiatus when he played India in the lone T20 at Jamaica last week. The warmth between Gayle and his RCB skipper Virat Kohli is heartening to see every time they play in the IPL. The Jamaican has tipped his skipper to break Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI hundreds record, a milestone which was once considered to be out of reach for anyone.

Tendulkar’s unachievable feats

The great Tendulkar retired from the ODI format in late 2012, finishing with a staggering 18,426 runs and 49 centuries. Those stats are mind-boggling. Now, Kohli is quickly following in the footsteps of his idol as far as centuries are concerned. He already has smashed 28 ODI hundreds, becoming the third highest behind Ponting and Sachin. If he keeps going at this rate then he might be able to reach close to the great man.

“Well, I still see him progressing in his career. A lot more runs to score and he can only get better and better and gain more experience as well. He will be one of the top guys, maybe even target Sachin Tendulkar for the most centuries and get those hundreds,” Gayle said.

At 28, Kohli still has a lot of time ahead of him. Making his debut as a 19-year old in 2008, Kohli has smashed 27 hundreds in the last 7 and a half seasons of international cricket, the most by any batsmen during this time. Tendulkar, though, had 31 hundreds to his name by the time he turned 28 but his career was 12 years old compared to Kohli’s 9.

On current form and career record, only Kohli can come close to Sachin. As far as the run tally is concerned, there is still not a single contender who can threaten Tendulkar’s tally of 18,426.

Kohli has a chance to emulate his idol

To achieve the heights of his idol, Kohli has to show the same hunger for runs for the next 7-8 years. The longevity of Tendulkar’s career sets him apart from the rest. It remains to be seen if Kohli, with the pressure of being the skipper in all formats, can keep his standard of cricket going for a long duration of time.