I really want Virat Kohli to score 100 centuries and break Sachin Tendulkar's record: Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has said he wants to see Virat Kohli break the legendary Sachin Tendulkar's record of 100 centuries in international cricket. Kohli's form has been under the scanner for a while now but the senior Team India batter has managed to spark a turnaround in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

Kohli has looked in decent touch in the Asia Cup so far with crucial knocks in India's first two matches against Pakistan and Hong Kong. He bagged a crucial 35-run-knock against Pakistan in the opener and followed it up with a brilliant fifty against Hong Kong to help the Men in Blue bag two wins in a row in the tournament.

Though he looked in good rhythm en route to his 44-ball 59 against Hong Kong, Kohli's innings lacked firepower and he was seen struggling to middle the ball on several occasions. Akhtar agreed Kohli is still not on top of his game and suggested waiting till the T20 World Cup 2022 if the shortest format is still a viable option for him going ahead.

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“Virat Kohli hasn't been middling the ball really well. Both innings were quite patchy. He scored 59, I wish him the best. Mera ye hi mashwara hoga Kohli ko ki dekh lo World Cup tak (My only suggestion to Kohli is to just wait till the T20 World Cup), if this format suits your or doesn't suit you. 30 centuries karni hain aur aage (you have to score 30 more centuries),” Akhtar said in a video on his YouTube channel.

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Akhar further backed Kohli to break Tendulkar's record of scoring 100 centuries in international cricket. Tendulkar holds the record for smashing the most number of centuries in international cricket and is the only man in the history of the sport to reach the 100 centuries mark.

With 70 centuries under his belt, Kohli is the closest to Tendulkar's record among the active batters. He is currently behind only Tendulkar and former Australia captain Ricky Ponting (71) in the list of batters with the most centuries in international cricket.

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Akhtar believes Kohli can go on to establish his credentials as the greatest of all time if he can score 30 more centuries in his international career. However, the Pakistan pacer insisted the remaining 30 centuries will be the toughest ones for the senior India batter, who has not scored a ton for Team India since November 2019.

“You can become the greatest player forever. You have to convince yourself that you are the greatest ever. This is going to be the hardest 30 centuries -- if he scores. When he goes to the longest formats, he will get time to settle. Here, he is trying but the time is less, you have to maintain a good strike rate, you have to ensure the team wins,"said Akthar.

"He is positive, he is aggressive.. he is a great player, but I really want him to score a 100 centuries and break Sachin Tendulkar's record. It looks impossible right now, but this man can do it,” he added.