'How many have scored 100 centuries?': Ravi Shastri on whether Virat Kohli can equal Sachin Tendulkar's record

The debate on whether Virat Kohli can break Sachin Tendulkar's glorious record of 100 centuries has re-ignited. Having broken free from the shackles of the century drought across formats last September, Kohli scored five centuries - one in T20Is, three ODIs and one in Test - which took his tally of 75 tons in international cricket. And while most veterans have backed Kohli to do the unthinkable, former India coach Ravi Shastri made a rather astounding remark on the possibility.

His three centuries in the ODI format, two of which came in consecutive innings, places him just three short of Sachin's record in the format, of 49 tons. The stark difference lies in the Test format, where Kohli has 28 hundreds in 108 appearances compared to Sachin's 51 in 200 matches.

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With 2023 being an ODI World Cup year, Kohli has been touted to surpass the legendary batter's mark in the 50-over format in this very year. And with the former India captain being an ambassador of Test cricket, veterans feel that appearances in the format over the next 5-6 years could guarantee him a chance to topple Sachin's record of 100 tons.

Shastri, in conversation with SportsYaari, is certain that Kohli can comfortably be in the sport for 5 to 6 years, but did not confidently say whether the star batter could reach to that iconic milestone.

“How many players have scored 100 hundreds? Just one. So if you are saying that he can cross that mark, it's a big thing. He still has a lot of cricket left in him. He is very fit. And when a player of that class starts scoring centuries then it follows one after the other. Probably in a stretch of 15 matches, there will be seven hundreds. Kohli can still easily play cricket for 5-6 years because he is fit. But it is not easy by any stretch of imagination that is why only one guy has done it. But the fact that you are telling me he might reach there is a big thing,” he said.