"I don't think I've seen better…" Ricky Ponting hails Virat Kohli as the greatest ODI batsman

Virat Kohli scored his 51st ODI century against Pakistan in ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

On Sunday, February 23, India defeated Pakistan by six wickets to register their second consecutive win in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Virat Kohli led India’s dominance in Dubai with his 51st ODI century. His unbeaten knock of 100 off 111 balls, which included seven fours, kept India in control of the 242-run chase.

While Kohli’s innings has earned praise from several fans, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has now called him the best 50-over player he has ever seen.

Ricky Ponting hails Virat Kohli after unbeaten ton against Pakistan

Speaking on the ICC Review, Ponting emphasized that he has not seen a better ODI player than Virat Kohli. He noted that the star Indian batter would want to become the leading run-scorer in ODI cricket.

Ponting said, “He’s obviously been a champion player for a long, long time. And particularly in the white-ball formats, where he’s been an unbelievably good 50-over player. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better 50-over player than Virat Kohli.“

“Now that he’s gone past me and only two ahead of him, I’m sure he would want to give himself the best chance to be remembered as the all-time leading run scorer in the game.“

Kohli currently has 14,085 runs in ODI cricket, which make him the third-highest run-scorer in the format, behind Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara, who retired with 18,426 and 14,234 runs respectively.

Praising Virat for his incredible tally, Ponting admired Sachin’s longevity, which has kept him 4,000 runs ahead of Kohli. However, he noted that Virat can reach the milestone if he maintains his hunger for runs.

He added, “It’s crazy when you think about it, isn’t it? Just how good Virat’s been over such a long period of time, yet he’s still 4,000 runs behind Sachin. It just goes to show how good Sachin was, but also his longevity in the game.“

“But with someone like Virat, you never write him off. If the hunger’s still there, then I’m never going to write him off.”

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