The debate never ends—who is the greatest ODI batter of all time? Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Viv Richards, Virat Kohli, or someone else? For Australian legend Ricky Ponting, the answer is clear.
Ponting, one of the finest batters in cricket history, has played alongside and against some of the game’s biggest icons, including Tendulkar. Yet, in his view, no one has been a better 50-over player than batting superstar Virat Kohli.
Ponting’s high praise comes just after Kohli smashed a record-extending 51st ODI century, guiding India to a successful chase of 242 against Pakistan in a Group A Champions Trophy match in Dubai.
During that innings, Kohli became the fastest player in ODI history to reach 14,000 runs, joining an elite club alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better 50-over player than Virat Kohli,” Ponting told ICC Review. “Now that he’s surpassed me on the run-scorers list and has only two batters ahead of him, I’m sure he’ll want to give himself the best chance to be remembered as the all-time leading run-scorer in the game.”
“Physically, he’s probably as fit as he’s ever been and works incredibly hard on that aspect of his game. It’s crazy when you think about it, isn’t it? Just how good Virat has been for so long, yet he’s still 4,000 runs behind Sachin,” Ponting remarked.
Kohli currently has 14,085 ODI runs to his name, still trailing Tendulkar’s all-time record of 18,426 by 4,341 runs.
At 36, Kohli has only a few years left in international cricket, giving him limited time to surpass Tendulkar.
“It just shows how great Sachin was, but also highlights his longevity in the game. However, with someone like Virat, you never write him off. If the hunger is still there, I won’t rule him out from overtaking Tendulkar,” Ponting added.
Kohli’s century in Dubai was the latest in a string of stellar performances against India’s arch-rivals, Pakistan.
“Yeah, just like in the 2022 T20 World Cup, he once again stepped up against the team he probably prepares himself the hardest to face,” Ponting said. “With Pakistan batting first on a tricky wicket, India needed someone at the top to deliver a match-winning knock.”
“And once again, it was Kohli who got the job done,” he added. “He’s been a champion player for a long time, especially in white-ball cricket, where he has been an unbelievably good 50-over player.”
