What’s a King to a God? Well, it seems we might be witnessing one trying to outshine the other, as ‘King’ Virat Kohli edges closer to surpassing the legendary ‘God of Cricket,’ Sachin Tendulkar, by achieving something that no one has done in the 147-year history of international cricket.
Kohli has often been compared to Tendulkar throughout his career, sparking endless debates about who is the better player. Stats have been analyzed and arguments made for both sides, but Tendulkar’s record of 100 international centuries still stands as the ultimate cricketing achievement. Kohli, with his 80 centuries, is chasing that milestone and inching closer.
But there’s another remarkable accomplishment that Kohli is on the verge of achieving. With 26,942 runs across all formats of international cricket in 591 innings, Kohli is just 58 runs shy of reaching 27,000 runs. If he scores those runs within the next 8 innings, he’ll become the fastest player in cricket history to reach this milestone, breaking Tendulkar’s record of 623 innings. Not only that, Kohli would become the first cricketer ever to reach 27,000 runs in fewer than 600 innings.
Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Kumar Sangakkara are the only other cricketers to surpass 27,000 runs, but Kohli is poised to do it faster than any of them.
As India gears up for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh, Kohli arrived in Chennai, ready to don the whites again after helping India win their second T20 World Cup. Following the win, both Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their retirement from T20 Internationals, choosing to focus on Test and ODI cricket.
With only these two formats to concentrate on, the duo will be looking to lead India to more success, including a shot at their third consecutive World Test Championship final. India currently sits at the top of the WTC standings, and with Kohli close to making history, the team won’t be letting up anytime soon.
