It’s incredible what he has been able to achieve and will continue to achieve, says Watson on Kohli’s ton in Ahmedabad Test

Doha: Former Australia all-rounder Shane Waston hailed Virat Kohli for his Test hundred in the Border Gavaskar Trophy and said that it is hard to believe Kohli’s record at this point, adding that the right-hander is going to be knocking on the doors of various incredible records.

Speaking at the press briefing session for Legends League Cricket (LLC) Masters, Watson said: “It’s incredible what he has been able to achieve and will continue to achieve. It has obviously been a little while between Test centuries for him, but it was only a matter of time before he scored another one. His record as it stands at this point in time is hard to believe, and he still has a lot of his career to go.

“You see the statistics and think that for anyone who has a chance of getting 100 centuries in international cricket, Sachin was the only other person to do it. So, it is something of a phenomenal achievement, and he still has a number of years of international cricket left as well. So, he is still going to be knocking on the doors of all these incredible records,” he added.

LLC Masters has started with a bang, with the first two matches ending in close encounters. The defending champion World Giants played their first match against the India Maharajas on Saturday and narrowly overcame the Gautam Gambhir onslaught by winning the match by two runs.

For the World Giants, it was the Australian pair of Aaron Finch and Watson, who turned back the clock in style, putting in stellar performances. Watson scored a quickfire fifty, scoring 55 off 32 balls.

The former Australian allrounder opened up about his innings against the Maharajas and said: “It is great fun to be a part of LLC. This is my first LLC Masters tournament. I feel very lucky to be playing cricket at my age, and I feel very privileged to be playing alongside some of the greatest players to have played cricket in the last 20 years or so.

Watson further said that he was delighted to reunite with his favourite player Jacques Kallis, with whom he had played in the Big Bish League club Sydney Thunders.

“It is a great experience to be reunited with Jacques Kallis, who is my favourite cricketer of all time. I was fortunate enough to have played with him for the Sydney Thunder in 2016, and to be able to play with him again I feel very lucky. He is my hero. To be able to play with Paul Collingwood for the first time, with Hashim Amla and my great friend Brett Lee as starting points, Chris Gayle, and the list goes on and on.

“Also, for Aaron Finch, being able to bat with him again in the first match was something very special. I can’t thank LLC enough for this incredible opportunity. I never thought something like this would be possible. It’s great fun.”

On being asked, despite being in such prime form, why he consider retiring from cricket, the 41-year-old said, “I obviously love playing cricket, but the biggest challenge has always been my body and being fit. As it is now, that is why I am not bowling in this tournament, unfortunately, because of a bit of a niggle. But, batting-wise and skill-wise, I still feel I am batting as well as I have.

“The preparation that I have had in the lead-up to the LLC Masters has been five weeks of just getting into the nets and finding my groove. So, batting on nice wickets is a lot of fun. It is what I know better than anything else in my life, cricket and batting and it is not as physically demanding compared to bowling. So, it’s great.”

–IANS