Former India opening batter Aakash Chopra has made a bold prediction about Virat Kohli, stating that the star batter will end his international career with 98 centuries. In a video posted by Cricinfo on X, Chopra was asked how many centuries Kohli would have by the time he ends his career, and he replied 98.
Kohli currently has 86 international centuries to his name and needs 15 more to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record.
Tendulkar played 664 international matches across formats from 1989 to 2013 and scored 100 centuries. He slammed 51 centuries in 200 Tests and 49 in 463 ODIs.
Kohli, on the other hand, has 55 centuries in ODIs, 30 in Tests and one in T20Is.
Most 100s in international cricket
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | TIME SPAN | MATCHES | RUNS | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 1989-2013 | 664 | 34357 | 100 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 2008-2026 | 564 | 28527 | 86 |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 1995-2012 | 560 | 27483 | 71 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 2000-2015 | 594 | 28016 | 63 |
| Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 1995-2014 | 519 | 25534 | 62 |
| Joe Root | England | 2012-2026 | 396 | 23074 | 61 |
Chopra was also asked to name India’s best white-ball fast
bowler apart from Jasprit Bumrah, and he mentioned Arshdeep Singh.
Arshdeep is India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is, with 140 wickets in 94 matches, but has played only 18 ODIs since making his debut against New Zealand in November 2022.
He is not even a guaranteed pick for India in the upcoming ODI World Cup 2027.
When asked about the biggest question mark in India’s ODI team, Chopra identified two areas of concern and said, “What happens if Hardik is unfit?”
Hardik is an integral part of India’s white-ball teams but has not played a competitive cricket match since the conclusion of IPL 2026. His last match for India was against New Zealand in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on March 8 in Ahmedabad.
Hardik was included in India’s A squad for three one-dayers against Australia A but was ruled out of the home assignment last week due to injury. The injury also raised questions over Hardik’s availability for the New Zealand series.
According to reports, Hardik is unlikely to feature in the five ODIs and five T20Is against New Zealand and will instead make his return to competitive cricket in November with the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for his domestic side, Baroda.
