'No bigger occasion than this': Wasim Jaffer backs Virat Kohli to set massive record in 100th Test

Virat Kohli is set to play his 100th Test when India face Sri Lanka and Wasim Jaffer said that this would be the perfect opportunity for the former India captain to end his drought of centuries.

Virat Kohli is set to become the 12th Indian player to play 100 Test matches and former batter Wasim Jaffer said that this would be the perfect opportunity for hi to end his drought of international centuries. Kohli, who has scored 70 international centuries, has not reached the three-figure mark since November 2019. He could also become the first Indian to score a century on his 100th Test if he manages to get to three figures in the first Test against Sri Lanka which starts on Friday.

Kohli has not scored an international century since November 2019 (ICC)

“It is his 100th Test and we keep talking about him not scoring a century for over two years in international cricket. There is no bigger occasion than this. I feel that leaving the captaincy will help him,” Jaffer said on ESPNCricinfo.

This will be Kohli's first match in the longest format since stepping down as Test captain last month after India's 2-1 defeat in South Africa. The 33-year-old was also rested for the recent T20I series against Sri Lanka and Jaffer said that Kohli would have benefited from these two factors.

“He got a break during the T20I series and he will be refreshed. We are all waiting to see the old Virat Kohli who keeps scoring centuries. There is no bigger occasion than your 100th Test to start doing that again so eagerly waiting for it.”

Kohli's first Test century came against Australia in Adelaide during India's rather forgettable 2011/12 tour but Jaffer said that he feels the 75 he scored in the preceding match in Perth was a more important knock in his career.

“Before that century he had scored 75 in Perth. For me that was a turning point because that series was not pretty bad for India and the Indian batters. So I feel that the 75 he made in Perth was more crucial than the century. Obviously reaching the three-figure mark makes a difference but that 75 was a big knock at the beginning of his career,” said Jaffer.

“His attitude separates him from the rest. He is a feisty character, does not shy away from a fight regardless of who the bowler is what the conditions are. That fighting spirit as a batsman and a leader separates him from everyone else.”