Gavaskar's audacious IPL prediction that Virat Kohli will surpass Sachin Tendulkar's ODI century record at some point
The debate over when, not if, Kohli would be able to beat Sachin Tendulkar's ODI century record has been resurrected once more now that he is very much alive and returning. In making the large forecast, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar also made a strong "IPL" declaration.
Virat Kohli failed to get a century for 80 or so of his international innings, which spanned 1028 days. But since escaping the chains in September of last year, Kohli has amassed four international tonnes in only 22 innings, three of which came in ODIs over the course of just four games. In the third and final ODI of the series against Sri Lanka on Sunday, Kohli notched his 46th ODI century on way to an unbeaten 166-run match-winning effort for India.
Win by a huge score of 317 runs to complete a rout.
When it became clear that Kohli will not surpass Sachin's record of 49 ODI tonnes between August 2019 and November 2022, the question of "when" became to "when." However, Gavaskar, in a chat with Sports Tak, claimed that it might very well happen before the start of the upcoming IPL season given Kohli's return to his role of racking up hundreds at will and crushing three tonnes in just four innings.
Before the IPL, India plays three one-day internationals against New Zealand and then two more against Australia. Given how well Kohli is playing right now, the former India captain may find himself at the centre of that series.elite ODI chart position.
We have three matches left against New Zealand and three more versus Australia. The shape he is in and the manner he is playing right now. So, before the IPL, we have six ODIs. He only requires his three centuries. Why shouldn't we believe that those three hundreds would occur before the IPL given the manner he is currently batting? he said.
On January 18, the New Zealand series will start.