Dubai, Feb 25: Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said he has not seen a “better player” than Virat Kohli in ODIs, and backed the Indian batting star to go past legendary Sachin Tendulkar as the highest run-getter in the 50-over format.
Kohli made an exceptional unbeaten 100, his 51st in ODIs, to guide India to a six-wicket win over Pakistan in a Champions Trophy match here on Sunday.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better 50-over player than Virat Kohli. Now that he’s gone past me (in run-maker’s list) and only two (batters) ahead of him, I’m sure he would want to give himself the best chance to be remembered as the all-time leading run scorer in the game,” Ponting told ICC Review.
During the course of that hundred, Kohli went past the 14000-run mark in one-dayers, joining former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara and Tendulkar in a rare club.
Kohli (14085 runs) is still 4,341 runs behind Tendulkar (18426) and at 36, the champion batter has limited time in his hand to overhaul the latter’s mark.But Ponting did not see it as an impossible task for Kohli.. (PTI)
