Will Virat be able to score 100 centuries: If he returns to his five-year old form, he will go ahead of Sachin by 2026

Team India’s star batsman Virat Kohli has ended the century drought in Test cricket. He has played a century in the longest format of international cricket after 1205 days, 23 matches and 41 innings. With this, Virat has scored 75 centuries in international cricket.

Now the big question arises that will he be able to match Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 100 centuries or break this record? In this story, you will know the answer to this question.

First see the breakup of Virat’s 28th century

how long can virat play
For Virat to be able to score 100 or more hundreds, it is necessary that he continues to play for a few more years. Virat has not given any such hint so far that it seems that he is planning to stay away from cricket. That is, they will continue to play now, but for how long? In terms of fitness, he is in better condition than many young stars of Team India. His status is also such that no one can oust him unless he himself decides to retire.

For how long will Virat play, we try to answer this with the career graph of some veterans of India. Sachin Tendulkar played for India till the age of 40. Rahul Dravid played till the age of 39. Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained a part of Team India till the age of 38. If Virat also follows the path of these legends, then he can play comfortably for 4 to 5 years. Now the next question arises that in case of playing for 4 to 5 more years, will he be able to collect 25 more. Now he has 74 centuries to his name.

If you get the form of 2018 then the way is very easy
Including all three formats of cricket, Virat takes an average of 7.33 innings for every century. In this context, he will need 190 innings for 26 centuries. He has played an average of 34 innings every year in his 16-year career. Accordingly, for 190 innings, he will have to play for about 5 and a half years. It is quite possible that he can play for 5 more years. However, if he regains his five-year-old form, he can complete hundreds of centuries in the next three years itself.

Virat had scored 22 centuries in 99 innings including the years 2017 and 2018. Means 1 century in every 4.5 innings. With this speed, if he starts scoring hundreds again, then in about 117 innings, he will score 26 more centuries. That is, in the next three years. By the year 2026. The way Virat is batting recently, it gives every indication that he is returning to his 2017-2018 form.

Along with form and fitness, taking breaks will also have to be reduced.
Whether or not Virat crosses the 100-hundred mark depends on his form and fitness as well as the number of breaks he takes. Virat has taken a break in the last few years. India has played 137 international matches since January 1, 2020. Virat played in only 86 of these. Missed 51 matches.

It was not even that he was unfit. He used to take breaks. If he continues to miss so many matches, then reaching 100 centuries may be difficult. Yes, even if he plays less T20 matches, it can work. In this format, he has scored only 1 century in 107 innings. He will have to avoid taking a break from ODIs and Test matches.