Former Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara has always spoken highly of Virat Kohli and his achievements. Recently, after a BBC reporter and Sri Lankan fan mentioned that Kohli fell short of 50 runs from Sangakkara’s record of most international runs in a calendar year, Sangakkara was quick to reply. Sangakkara mentioned that Kohli ‘is a different class’ and could break his record next year.
Here are the top five cricketers with most international runs in a calendar year:
Kumar Sangakkara, 2,968 runs (2014)
Ricky Ponting, 2,833 runs (2005)
Virat Kohli, 2,818 runs (2017)
Kane Williamson, 2,692 runs (2015)
Angelo Mathews, 2,657 runs (2014)
Here’s the tweet of the Sri Lankan fan:
Kumar Sangakkara’s 2868 runs in 2014 will remain as the highest tally ever recorded in a calendar year as Virat Kohli ends year 2017 with 2818 runs #Cricket
— Azzam Ameen (@AzzamAmeen) December 5, 2017
Here’s how Sangakkara replied to the tweet:
I don’t think that will last long the way @imVkohli is batting. He will probably overtake it next year and then do it again the year after. He is a different class.
— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) December 6, 2017
Kohli could have broken that record easily had he not taken a break from international cricket. The Indian skipper has been rested for the India vs Sri Lanka limited overs series.
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Recently, Kohli became the first cricketer to score 6 double hundreds in Test cricket as a captain. The 29-year-old has been on a record-breaking spree for a while now.
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Sangakkara believes Kohli can break records and even better his own records in the years to come. Though his real test will be in January 2018 when India will tour South Africa for the three-Test series.
