Virat Kohli is more than 4,000 runs adrift of Sachin Tendulkar in the list of leading one-day international scorers but former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes the 36-year-old can still surpass the Indian maestro if he remains hungry.
Kohli went past 14,000 runs in the format with an unbeaten 100 in India’s victory over Pakistan in the Champions Trophy on Sunday and only has Tendulkar (18,426) and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (14,234) ahead of him. Ponting, who is fourth in the list with 13,704 runs, backed the Indian batsmen to keep adding to his tally of 14,085.
“With someone like Virat, you never write him off, because I’m sure he would be motivated by that (achieving the record),” Ponting said on the ICC Review Podcast.
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“Now that he’s gone past me and only two ahead of him, I’m sure he wants to give himself the best chance to be remembered as the all-time leading run scorer in the game.
“So, as long as the hunger’s there … physically, he’s probably as fit as he’s ever been and works exceptionally hard on that side of his game. If the hunger’s still there then I’m never going to write him off.”
Ponting said it would not be long before Kohli scores the 150 runs he needs to go past Sangakkara, suggesting he could even do so in India’s next game against New Zealand on Sunday.
Catching Tendulkar, who retired from ODI cricket in 2012 aged 39, would be much more challenging but not impossible.
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“It’s crazy when you think about it … how good Virat’s been over such a long period of time, yet he’s still 4,000 runs behind Sachin,” Ponting added. “It just goes to show how good Sachin was, but also his longevity in the game. How long Sachin played for and how long you’re able to maintain such high levels for as a player.
“That’s the one thing I’ve always judged excellence on, is how long you can maintain it for.”
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