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Shubman Gill, Babar Azam, and still no answer to Virat Kohli's ODI hundred mountain, wherever he finally stops
Virat Kohli's ODI record of 52 centuries is formidable, with Shubman Gill being the only next-gen player showing potential to approach it.
Virat Kohli’s ODI century record is no longer just a landmark; it is a moving mountain. He is at 52 Hundreds; if he plays even a modest role till the 2027 World Cup, that number almost certainly climbs further.
So the real question isn’t “can anyone get to 52?” It is: Is there any next-gen batter who can live in the same postcode, wherever Kohli finally stops?
The moving mountain
Start with the basics. Virat Kohli has 52 ODI hundreds from roughly 294 innings - a century about once every 5.6 innings, while averaging close to 58. Tendulkar, the previous record-holder, needed over 9 innings per ton; Rohit Sharma sits at 8 innings for one hundred. Kohli scores hundreds far more frequently than other all-time greats and does a huge chunk of it in chases.
If he plays another 15-25 ODI innings across this cycle, even with normal later-career form, 3-5 more centuries is a realistic band. A hot streak could push that higher. That puts his likely finishing range somewhere in the mid-50s.
To beat that, a younger batter needs three things to land together:
- 250-300 ODI innings in a shrinking format
- A century rate in the Kohli range or better
- 15-18 years of high-intensity international cricket without being rotated out of ODIs
That’s the bar.
Also Read: Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar: Records already broken, records that may never be touched
Gill, Babar, and the rest vs that bar
Among the current “next gen”, Shubman Gill is the only one whose numbers even let you dream. He’s already averaging around 59 in ODIs with 8 tons from about 55 innings - roughly one hundred every 6.9 innings. A projection that over 280-300 innings, and you land around 40-43 hundreds. Outstanding, but still a full 10-15 hundreds short of a Kohli finish in the mid-50s.
Babar Azam is in a similar efficiency band - 20 hundreds from 137 innings, 6.85 innings per ton, but he’s older. Even with a generous extension, he projects into the high-30s and low-40s, not mid-50s.
Names like Shai Hope, Pathum Nissanka, and others can all build great ODI legacies, but their realistic ceilings - given team schedules and current scoring rates - sit in the 25-40 hundreds range. Hall-of-fame careers, yes. Kohli territory, no.
In pure data terms, the honest answer right now is: Unless ODI cricket unexpectedly expands again and a prodigy maintains a Kohli-level ton rate for 15+ years, his eventual record looks designed to stand. Gill has the only semi-plausible outside chance, but the format itself may not give him enough innings.
