Former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee reckons that the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli has every chink in his armor to break legendary cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar‘s record of a 100 international centuries. However, the former Australian speedster reckons that it won’t be without the Indian captain being put through a Test, the sternest of which is playing all three formats in international cricket.

Kohli has already amassed 43 centuries in ODIs and within a  few years, he will be surpassing Tendulkar’s record of 49 tons in the format, although the India skipper has some catching up to do in terms of Test hundreds. With 27 centuries, Kohli is still 25 tons away from breaking Tendulkar’s record in the longest format, but as far as ODI is concerned, Lee is confident of the record being broken.

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During a show on Star Sports named Cricket Connected, Lee said, “We are talking about phenomenal numbers here, so you mentioned seven to eight years of cricket and at the rate he (Virat Kohli) is going, yes, he can definitely knock it off. But, how can you say someone can go past Sachin Tendulkar – this is God here, can someone go better than God, we will wait and see.”

However, the impact of the COVID-19 could delay Kohli surpassing Tendulkar’s tally of centuries. With no tentative date regarding a potential resumption of cricket, the wait can be expected to extend. Furthermore, until February it had been five months since Kohli last scored an ODI hundred, although one would still believe it’s only a matter of time before the India captain overtakes Tendulkar.

However, Lee pointed out that three factors will play a pivotal role over deciding whether Virat will able to surpass Tendulkar, whom the former quick has dismissed most times in international cricket (14).

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Describing the same, Brett Lee said, “It comes down to three things, there is one thing I would like to eliminate so, you talk about talent as a batsman, he’s definitely got that talent, eliminate that first and foremost. Then fitness Virat Kohli has got that fitness, so for me, it is all about fitness at the age of 30 and also that mental strength, the mental capacity to get through those hard times. He will do it easily with his talent, it comes down to his mental strength and if he stays fit enough and I believe he has got all those three components to go past Sachin.”