“Virat Kohli might equal or break Sachin Tendulkar’s record before the World Cup”

“Virat Kohli might equal or break Sachin Tendulkar’s record before the World Cup” - S Sreesanth

Virat Kohli (left) and Sachin Tendulkar (Pics: AP & Getty Images)

Former India fast bowler S Sreesanth is confident that Virat Kohli can either break or equal Sachin Tedulkar’s record for 49 ODI hundreds before the 2023 World Cup.

India will take on Bangladesh in their last Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday. The Men in Blue will subsequently meet Sri Lanka in the final on Sunday at the same venue. India will then take on Australia in three ODIs at home before the World Cup.

Kohli notched up his 47th ODI ton in the Super 4 match against Pakistan on September 10. He smashed an unbeaten 122 off only 94 balls, an innings which featured nine fours and three sixes.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, Sreesanth stated that there is a decent chance of Kohli either matching or surpassing Tendulkar’s record of most one-day tons ahead of the World Cup.

“100 percent. There are a couple of innings left in the Asia Cup. After that, there is a series against Australia. Virat Kohli might equal or break Sachin Tendulkar’s record before the World Cup,” he opined.

After the Asia Cup, India will play three ODIs against Australia from September 22 to September 27.

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Speaking of Kohli, he has hit 47 tons in 279 ODIs, while Tendulkar notched up 49 hundreds in 463 games.

“He is still young; he can win another two World Cups” - Sreesanth on Chahal’s axe

One of the big decisions made by the Indian team for the 2023 World Cup has been the axing of ace leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in favor of all-rounders.

According to Sreesanth, India will miss Chahal because of the conditions on offer during the World Cup. He also urged the leg-spinner to not lose hope and remain positive.

“India will miss Chahal because the conditions are such. Chahal’s thinking should be that - yes, I deserve to be in the XI, but I am confident I will get better opportunities. I saw one of his wickets in county. It was similar to how Shane Warne had bowled Mike Gatting - off stump bowled on a front foot defense. It was a dream-come-true for a leg-spinner," he said.

“He is in good form. All I would tell him is, keep working hard, keep believing. He is still young; he can still win another two World Cups,” the former India pacer concluded.