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Australia great Michael Hussey says India batsman Virat Kohli could emulate the legendary feats of Sachin Tendulkar before his career is done.
But Hussey was quick to caveat the prediction, adding that while Kohli has the talent it is yet to be proven if he has the stamina of the Little Master.
“One of Tendulkar’s greatest strengths was his longevity and if Kohli can stay fit, he could be well on his way to emulate Tendulkar as a player,” Hussey said from India, where he is commentating on the Indian Premier League.
In the current tournament Kohli has risen his game to new heights, last night hitting a 47-ball century in a rain-shortened game, his fourth of the IPL season.
In doing so, Kohli became the first man to score more than three centuries in a single T20 tournament and moved just one away from Gayle’s all-time IPL record of five hundreds.
Kohli finished his innings against Kings XI by going 4-6-4 to finish with 113 from 50 balls, a performance that took him to 4,002 career runs in the IPL, making him the first man to break through that barrier.
Before the start of the season, Kohli was fourth on the list of the all-time leading run-scorers in the IPL but he’s now 17 ahead of second-placed Suresh Raina. He has already blown the single-season scoring record out of the water this season.
He also now has 2,042 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, the first man to score 2,000 runs at a single venue in T20s.
“He has evolved into an amazing player,” added Hussey, who said AB de Villiers and Steve Smith were his contemporaries.
“These three are all probably at a stage now where they know their game inside and out and they stick to it as it has given them so much success over the years.
“I simply love watching them bat.”
One of the most intriguing sub-plots in Indian cricket over the next decade will be Virat Kohli’s attempt to surpass the great Sachin Tendulkar and become the most prolific century-maker in one-day international history.
Tendulkar’s 24-year dominance of world cricket saw him take a stranglehold over almost every statistical record in the book, but it has long been forecast that Kohli would one day surpass him in ODI cricket.
He currently sits equal fourth on the list of ODI century-makers alongside Kumar Sangakkara, and the records of Sanath Jayasuriya (28) and Ricky Ponting (30) are well within his reach.
Kohli, for his part, is keen to play down the Tendulkar comparisons but they show little sign of abating.
“It is embarrassing to be honest. It is not fair on him (Tendulkar),” Kohli said recently.
“He can’t be compared to anyone. You are talking about a batsman of a different calibre.
“I have strengthened my game whereas he was born to achieve all that he has. I have been playing well for two years while he served the nation with grace for 24 years.
“He is two levels above anyone else in this generation of batsmen. I am individually inspired by him though I would like to create my own path.”
