NEW DELHI: Former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain are in awe of Virat Kohli’s impressive ODI statistics and think the Indian mainstay is likely the greatest batsman in the history of the sport.
In a Champions Trophy encounter in Dubai on Sunday, Kohli led India to a resounding six-wicket victory over bitter rivals Pakistan with a masterful performance of unbroken 100, his 51st century in ODIs.
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“Virat Kohli in a run-chase in 50-over cricket, there’s been nobody better in the history of the game, really. 51 century is an unbelievable number,” said the 56-year-old Atherton, who captained England in 54 Test matches, on ‘Sky Sports Cricket Podcast’.
Kohli joined the select company of Sachin Tendulkar (18,426 in 452 innings) and Kumar Sangakkara (14,234 in 380 innings) as the fastest batter to reach 14,000 ODI runs while en route to his century in his 299th 50-over outing.

“I mean, he’s got 51 and he passed 14,000 runs, which only Tendulkar and Sangakkara have got past that mark in one-day cricket,” Atherton continued.
“And he got them in 60-odd innings quicker than Sachin, and I think about 90-odd innings quicker than Kumar.
“So, I mean, ODI is probably his best. You know, he’s been a great all-format player, clearly, but you’d probably say that ODI is his absolute best format.”
Hussain, England captain from 1999 to 2003, echoed similar remarks saying, “He’s been an incredible player. Yeah, and you’d have to say probably the best player in ODIs of all time, really, with those stats you mentioned.
“You’d have Tendulkar in the same conversation. Kumar, you’d have AB de Villiers. They’ve been some great ones, but he’s right at the top of the tree.”