England Legends Praise Virat Kohli, Labeling Him the "Best" ODI Player After His 51st Century

Sports Cricket

Posted by NewAdmin on 2025-02-25 09:12:39 |

Share: Facebook | Twitter | Whatsapp | Linkedin Visits: 77

---

Former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain haveexpressed their admiration for Virat Kohli’s exceptional ODI statistics, withboth believing that the Indian star is likely the best batsman in the historyof the format. Kohli played a stunning unbeaten knock of 100, his 51st ODIcentury, to guide India to a comfortable six-wicket victory over arch-rivalsPakistan in a Champions Trophy match in Dubai on Sunday.

"ViratKohli in a run-chase in 50-over cricket, there's been nobody better in thehistory of the game," said Atherton, 56, who captained England in 54 Testmatches, on the 'Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.' "51 centuries is anunbelievable achievement."

During his299th 50-over match, Kohli also became the fastest player to reach 14,000 ODIruns, joining an elite group with Sachin Tendulkar (18,426 in 452 innings) andKumar Sangakkara (14,234 in 380 innings).

“He's got 51centuries and passed 14,000 runs, which only Tendulkar and Sangakkara have donein one-day cricket," Atherton continued. "And he reached it in 60-oddinnings quicker than Sachin, and around 90 innings quicker than Kumar. So, ODIis probably his best format. He’s been a great all-format player, but you'dprobably say ODI is his absolute best."

Hussain, whocaptained England from 1999 to 2003, shared similar views, stating, "He'sbeen an incredible player. Yeah, and you'd have to say he's probably the bestplayer in ODIs of all time, really, with those stats you mentioned."

"You’d put Tendulkar in the same conversation, Kumar, AB deVilliers. There have been some greats, but he’s right at the top."

Go!