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Former Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal believes Babar Azam and Shubman Gill have a good chance of breaking Virat Kohli’s record for the most number of centuries in ODIs. During India’s World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, Kohli went past Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries, a feat that many believe will be impossible to overtake as the number of ODIs being played has reduced.
While Tendulkar had taken 463 ODIs for 49 centuries, Kohli has overtaken him in 291 matches and looks set to hold the record for a long period. With 31 centuries, India’s current captain Rohit Sharma is third on the list.
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And pointing to the fact the most of the ODI centuries has been scored by batsmen, who bat at the top of the order, and includes the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Ricky Ponting, Hashim Amla in the top six, Kamran said Babar who has 19 centuries and is only 29 years has a good chance of overtaking Kohli.
“Anyone who bats in the top three can break that record. It is very challenging for middle-order batsmen to get to such a number. We have Babar Azam, who bats at No 3 and he has a chance. India have Shubman Gill, who opens the batting, and he can also go for the record,” Akmal said on ARY News.
After failing to take Pakistan into the knockouts, Babar resigned as their captain couple of days ago.
