Dubai, Feb 24 (IANS) Former cricketer Navjyot Singh Sidhu was full of praises for India’s batting talisman Virat Kohli, who produced yet another ODI classic with an unbeaten century against Pakistan in a high-stakes Champions Trophy encounter on Sunday, and said with his conviction the right-hander can score another 10-15 centuries in his career.
Coming in to bat after India went one down in the powerplay, Kohli knitted an unbeaten 100 off 111 to keep the momentum in his side’s favour, bringing up his 51st ODI ton and surpassing Sachin Tendulkar to become the first player with 50 centuries in the format.
“Character is not made in a crisis, it is exhibited. This is a man (Virat Kohli) with pedigree, with passion. And after this 100, I can say it with conviction that this man is playing for the next 2 or 3 years and he is getting another 10 or 15 hundreds. That, you take it from me. Because, you see, the ultimate litmus test for anyone is how he goes through the adverse times, how he embraces adversity.
“Last six months, there has been so much going on that he chose his moment. When he scored runs against Pakistan, people are not going to forget it for 10 years,” Sidhu said on JioHotstar.
The 36-year-old, who made his debut for India back in 2008 against Sri Lanka, also crossed the 14,000 run-mark to become only the third batter to do so after Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.
The veteran batter crossed the milestone in his 298th ODI for India, and has 50 hundreds in the format to go with 73 half-centuries.
“I think more than the work I put in, it’s about his hard work and his dedication to the game. Because he is a guy who leaves no stone unturned as far as preparation is concerned. He knew that he had to step up. He brought that intensity to his game and you could see it in his body language. You could see in the way his eyes lit up and that fire was burning there.
“He was hungry for runs. Today was an innings of which we can certainly say what Navjot Singh Sidhu just said- another 3-4 years of international cricket, easily. Because if you can maintain that side of standards in terms of execution of pure skill and intent, you get a master class like this,” Sidhu added.
Kohli is now the quickest men’s batter to reach 8000, 9000, 10000, 11000, 12000, 13000 and 14000 runs in the international 50-over format. He got to 14,000 ODI runs in 63 fewer innings than Tendulkar.
“Look, when you assess Virat Kohli, what is his trademark? If I look at Sachin Tendulkar, it was always the back foot punch that he would give. Look at Gavaskar, the straight drive. When you look at Virat Kohli, it’s the cover drive. And when he gets his head on top of the ball and he’s cover driving beautifully, you know he’s back.
“If you look at the initial part of his innings, if you look at these drives, you know that this is the Virat Kohli of old. And to me, it’s the character that he exhibited when the chips were down.
“These are the people who’ve inspired the kid in the street. For the game to grow, you need role models, who are above everything. Virat Kohli is a once-in-a-generation cricketer, a ‘Kohinoor’. You must understand the value that he brings to international cricket- 99 innings, and an average of 89.6 in successful chases means that he handles pressure without allowing it to affect him. And the tougher it gets, the more he thrives in that situation. That’s the hallmark of a great cricketer,” Sidhu concluded.
India will next play New Zealand in their last group stage fixture on March 2.
–IANS
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