'Will never say never with Virat Kohli; can still go past Sachin Tendulkar' - Ricky Ponting

Surpassing legendary former Indian Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar's feat of 100 international centuries is "possible" for Virat Kohli. Former Australian great Ricky Ponting has said it is possible, looking at the Indian superstar's newly-found hunger for runs. Kohli recently ended his wait of 1,020 days, slamming his 71st international century, scoring an unbeaten 122 off 61 deliveries against Afghanistan during the Asia Cup 2022 earlier this month in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"Look, I'll never say never with Virat because you know once he gets on a bit of a roll, you know how hungry and keen he is for success. I'll never say never, that's for sure," Ponting said. During his century, Kohli equalled Ponting's record of 71 hundred. Kohli now has only a name on the list of most centuries who stands above him -- Tendulkar.

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Thirty international tons may be a lot, but Ponting feels: "I still think he has got several years ahead of him, but I guess 30 international hundreds still behind, that's a lot. That's five or six Test hundreds a year, maybe for the next three or four years. If you throw a couple of one-day ones, maybe the odd T20 ones on top."

With Kohli back to his usual best, a debate is on whether he should start as an opener instead of KL Rahul. The latter has struggled to get into a rhythm following his return from an injury layoff. Kohli has opened for India in nine Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), scoring 400 runs at an average of 57.14 and possessing a splendid strike rate of 161.29.

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"The question we're going to keep asking is -- well, I'm sure, the Indian selectors are asking the same question -- does that create more of a problem than we thought with Virat getting that 100, opening the batting? What are we going to do now going into the World Cup?" wondered Ponting.

"So, a few other questions are probably raised on the back of that magnificent 100 he made. He was on record saying he was surprised that the first 100 back was actually in a [T20I] game. He thought that'd be the last option he'd have to score his first hundred in a couple of years," Ponting continued.

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After a month-long break, Kohli returned to the Indian side in the Asia Cup. Team India will face off against Australia in three T20Is starting in Mohali on Tuesday before facing South Africa in three One-day Internationals (ODIs) and T20Is before flying out to Australia for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.

Asked whether Kohli should be rested again, Ponting replied: "Yes, that's an excellent question, and that's probably a question only he could answer. It's just going to depend on how he is feeling mentally again. When you're playing, you don't even realise how tired you are until you take a step back because you're always bluffing yourself and convincing yourself that you are 100 per cent right physically and mentally."

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"Sometimes you're nowhere near that. And I think Virat has actually come out and said that as well. He didn't realise how bad his space was until he got that extended break. I'm sure he'll play the next series if he keeps scoring runs now. If he plays that and plays well and starts getting on a bit of a role, I think he'll want to keep playing," persisted Ponting.

"He'd [Kohli] like to keep that momentum going. But, if he does have a bit of a lean patch again, it'll probably be in his interest and India's interest to try and freshen him mentally as much as they can going into the World Cup," Ponting concluded.

(With inputs from PTI)