Virat Kohli 49th ODI century: Team India’s former fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad has responded to those who criticized Virat Kohli’s 49th ODI century by calling his innings slow. Kohli equaled Sachin Tendulkar’s world record by completing his 49th ODI century in 119 balls against South Africa in Kolkata on Sunday (November 5).

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Former Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Hafeez also joined those who termed Kohli’s innings as selfish

Describing Kohli’s innings as slow, many critics called him selfish and accused him of playing for his own record. Former Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Hafeez was also among those who termed Kohli’s innings as selfish. Criticizing Kohli, Hafeez said, “I saw a sense of selfishness in Virat Kohli’s batting and this happened for the third time in this World Cup. He was trying to complete his century by taking one run in the 49th over and he did not put the team in first place.”

‘Yes, Kohli is selfish because…’ Venkatesh Prasad

Venkatesh Prasad gave a befitting reply to Kohli’s critics and wrote on X, “Listening to the funny arguments about Virat Kohli being selfish and obsessed with personal achievements. Yes, Kohli is selfish, selfish enough to fulfill the dreams of a billion people. Selfish enough to strive for supremacy even after achieving so much. Selfish enough to set new benchmarks, and So selfish that he can ensure his team’s victory. Yes, Kohli is selfish.”

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Virat Kohli is the “best” batsman in the world based on his entire record

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes Virat Kohli is the “best” batsman in the world based on his overall record and he does not need to equal the great Sachin Tendulkar’s record number of ODI centuries to earn that tag.

On his 35th birthday on Sunday, Kohli equaled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries by scoring an unbeaten 101 against South Africa in the World Cup match. This century further strengthened Kohli’s claim to be one of the greatest players of modern times. Kohli played 277 innings to score 49 ODI centuries whereas Sachin played 452 innings for this.