Will Virat Kohli beat all of Sachin Tendulkar's records?

Kohli can reach heights which many even failed to touch

There are a few players whose mere presence on the crease instills a lot of confidence, both in the dressing room as well as amongst the supporters in the stand. For India, Sachin Tendulkar was that player in the 1990s, who performed this role. In the last few years, Virat Kohli has stepped up to the plate and has been that reliable figure for India.

Virat Kohli’s ODI heroics vis-à-vis Sachin Tendulkar’s

Kohli has been the most consistent batsman for India across all formats in the last few years. Especially in the ODI format, he has been amongst the best in the world. He averages above 50 in ODI cricket and has hit 22 centuries so far in only 161 ODI matches.

The 26-year-old batsman is also the quickest to 22 ODI centuries, having taken just 143 innings to reach this milestone. Even the great Tendulkar, who was the quickest before Kohli to do so, took 206 innings to reach this mark. So, Kohli is scoring centuries at approximately 50% faster rate than Tendulkar. Take a second to let that sink it!

Also, Kohli’s runs have come when the team has needed them the most. Many of India’s run chases in the past four years have been decided by Kohli’s bat. He has scored more than half of his 100s while chasing, which makes it even more impressive, considering the pressure that it entails. 20 of his 22 hundreds have resulted in victories for India. Some journalists have even commented that Virat is better than Sachin in ODIs.

The video here show his explosive 133 not out while chasing a target of 320 vs Sri Lanka:

So, if Kohli can even maintain his current rate, he will be in a great position to eventually overhaul Sachin’s record of 49 ODI hundreds. Considering the number of ODIs India plays every year, which is around 30-40 and the fact that Kohli is still only 26, he has a great chance of breaking this record.

Even if we assume Kohli goes on to play only till he is 35, which is conservative, he will play around 300 ODIs more for India. At his current rate of scoring, he will easily break and even surpass the ODI centuries’ record.

Also, Kohli will be in with a good chance of overcoming Sachin’s haul of nearly 18000 runs in ODI cricket. He currently is at the 7000 run mark, and will have his shot at getting this record too. However, it will require great consistency and longevity from Virat to do so. Compared to the centuries’ record, this one will be a much tougher one to break.

Even India’s former greats Sunil Gavaskar and Sourav Ganguly have commented that Kohli will most likely break Sachin’s ODI centuries’ record.

Gavaskar commented this about Kohli in an interview to NDTV in October 2013:

“Records are meant to be broken. While we know that some of Tendulkar's records are well nigh impossible to be able to get like 200 Test matches, nor anybody can reach 51 Test hundreds,” Gavaskar said. "But the manner in which Virat is batting, the record for (Tendulkar's) 49 hundreds looks possible. Now Virat needs 32 more hundreds to go and the number of ODIs Indians play he can do it. This cricketing season itself, Virat can get to 20 or 22 hundreds."

Kohli vs Tendulkar in Test cricket

Compared to his ODI heroics, Kohli has not been that destructive in the Test format. He has had periods of prolific run scoring followed by lean patches. Also, even when he has scored hundreds, he hasn’t been able to convert them into big hundreds or double hundreds and completely knock out the opposition.

His record there too is impressive, having scored 11 hundreds so far in 37 Test matches, while averaging 45. These are decent figures, but don’t match up well with the best batsmen in Test cricket right now, or historically. Tendulkar comparatively was better place than Kohli at this stage in his Test career.

However even Sachin had his best period in Test matches, after the initial period of trials and tribulations. After his first 20 Tests, Sachin had averaged 37.41 in Tests with only four hundreds. He picked up tremendously in the next 10 years, averaging over 60 in the period from Jan 1993 to Dec 2002. That will be tough to match.

Kohli is however only 26 right now. Considering the fact that most batsmen reach and play at their best in the age bracket of 27 to 32, Kohli’s best years may still be ahead of him. If he can iron out his flaws and be focused, Kohli may establish himself as one of India’s greatest Test players too. However, breaking Sachin’s record of Test centuries or runs looks like a tough task right now.

If anyone can do it, it has to be Kohli

Kohli is aggressive and confident - a reflection of today’s India. Cocky, confident and not willing to be second best to anyone. Captaincy may help Kohli improve further as a Test player and we have already seen him do great in the last tour to Australia. He scored four hundreds in the four-Test match series, scoring 639 runs in total.

He became the first and only batsman to score four hundreds in four Test vs Australia in Australia. Have a look at his knock of 169 in the third Test at the MCG:

Even his teammates and foreign players who have played with him in the IPL have commented that they haven’t seen a more hard-working cricketer than Kohli.

If he keep can learning and improving, there is no reason Kohli cannot break all of Sachin’s records and reach the pinnacle of Indian batting. Indian cricket fans would hope he does so, as it would mean a golden period for India in the next few years.