Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has asserted that there is not a single Indian cricket fan who doesn’t want the Indian talismanic batter Virat Kohli to get to 100 international centuries. While Kohli bid adieu to Tests and T20Is, he is still actively playing ODIs.
In his latest column on Mid-day, Gavaskar remarked that Kohli reaching the milestone would be a moment of glory for him and all Indian cricket fans, adding that if there is an occasion where other teammates sacrifice their runs to allow the veteran batter a chance to get to the landmark.
“Indians have always been fond of records and so there’s always a debate about the rights and wrongs of going for it. One thing for sure that 99% of those who say they don’t play for records are actually incapable, talent and temperament-wise, of setting any, and so it’s easy for them to say so,” Gavaskar wrote in his column.
“There is not a single Indian cricket fan who does not want Kohli to get to 100 international centuries. We are all cheering for him to get there and so, if there’s an occasion where some other teammate sacrifices his runs to allow him the chance to get there, the glory will not be just Kohli’s but for all Indian cricket fans too,” he added.
In the rain-affected first ODI, Kohli was dismissed for 74. Gavaskar suggested that Kohli’s dismissal spared Gill or Shreyas from the dilemma of potentially missing out on a century while chasing the target, as well as the possibility of facing criticism from fans on social media.
“Kohli got out in the 70s. Gill and Iyer were thus spared any blowback if the winning runs had been hit with Kohli unbeaten in the 90s. Yes, it’s a team game, but it’s also good for the team if one of its members, especially a star player, gets to a personal milestone without affecting the team’s chances of winning,” Gavaskar concluded his column.
