Virat Kohli's unshakeable grit in the last six months, topped by his unbeaten century against Pakistan, has led former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu to believe that the "once-in-a-generation" player will play for another two to three years.
Kohli came storming back to form in spectacular style, hitting his 51st ODI century to guide India to a six-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan, all but guaranteeing their spot in the Champions Trophy semifinals.
"Character is not built in a crisis, it is displayed. This is a man with class, with fire. And after this 100, I can say with certainty that this man is going to play for the next 2 or 3 years and he is going to get another 10 or 15 hundreds," Sidhu added on JioHotstar.
"That, you take it from me. Because, you see, the final test of anyone is how he navigates the bad times, how he welcomes adversity."
Kohli's performances in Tests have come down quite a bit after 2020, and his spot in the red-ball team was questioned after consecutive series losses to New Zealand and Australia.
"Last half year, there has been so much happening that he picked his moment. When he scored runs against Pakistan, people are not going to forget it for 10 years.".
"If you see the early portion of his innings, if you see these drives, you understand that this is the Virat Kohli of yesteryears. And as far as I am concerned, it is the character which he displayed when the chips were down.".
"These are the individuals who've inspired the street kid. For the game to develop, you require role models, who are above everything. Virat Kohli is a once-in-a-generation cricketer, a 'Kohinoor'."
In his unbeaten innings, Kohli also became the quickest batsman to score 14,000 ODI runs.
"Lambataiya, if you judge Virat Kohli, what's his signature? The cover drive. And if he has his head over the ball and he is cover driving nice, then you know that he's okay.
"You've got to realise the contribution he makes to world cricket- 99 matches, and an average of 89.6 when the side wins the chase suggests that he negotiates pressure but does not allow pressure to eat away at him.".
"And the more pressure, the more he flourishes in that circumstance. That is the sign of a top class cricketer."
As Kohli was stuck on 96 and India was only two runs away from a win, skipper Rohit Sharma was looked at by the camera, which cheekily prompted his teammate to seal the victory with a six.
"What I witnessed today was Rohit Sharma's smiling face. If Virat Kohli gets that 100, you see that face. Nobody can whistle a symphony, it requires an orchestra to play it. It's a team game and if the team takes pride in one's compatriot's performance, that is a very good sign."
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