You never write him off: Ricky Ponting on Virat Kohli chasing Sachin Tendulkar's record

Dubai, March 2: Virat Kohli's remarkable career continues to scale new heights as he approaches his 300th ODI, and with it, another significant milestone. His unbeaten century against Pakistan in Dubai not only reinforced his dominance but also propelled him to No. 5 in the ICC ODI rankings. More significantly, it made him just the third player in history to cross 14,000 runs in ODIs.

Kohli has already surpassed Ricky Ponting in the all-time ODI run charts and now stands just 149 runs away from overtaking Kumar Sangakkara (14,234 runs) for the second spot. However, the ultimate peak--Sachin Tendulkar's 18,426 runs--remains a daunting challenge. Kohli is still 4,341 runs behind the Indian legend, raising the question: can he surpass the Master Blaster?

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who himself once held the second position on the all-time run list, weighed in on Kohli's pursuit of greatness.

"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 4000 runs behind Sachin. I mean, it just goes to show how good Sachin was, but also his longevity in the game, how long Sachin played for and how long you're able to maintain such high levels for as an individual player," Ponting said in a video posted by ICC on Instagram.

Tendulkar's longevity remains unparalleled. The batting maestro played 463 ODIs and 200 Test matches in a career that spanned over two decades. Kohli, on the other hand, is still going strong, known for his exceptional fitness and hunger for runs. Ponting believes those qualities could push him closer to Tendulkar's record.

"And that's the one thing I've always judged excellence on, is how long you can maintain it for. And you know, Sachin, 200 test matches and God knows how many won days, must have been over 500 won days, I'd imagine. Incredible longevity, incredible career," he added.

"With someone like Virat, you never write him off because I'm sure he'd be motivated by that. I think, now that he's gone past me, I'm sure he wants to give himself the best chance to be remembered as the all-time leading run scorer in the game. So as long as the hunger's there, you know, obviously, physical-wise, he's probably as fit as he's ever been and works exceptionally hard on that side of his game," Ponting said.

"So if the hunger's still there, then there's, you know, I'm never going to write him off," he noted.

At 36, Kohli still has a few years left in his career. Given his consistency and fitness, surpassing Sangakkara is almost inevitable. However, catching up to Tendulkar will require sustained brilliance over the next few years something only a select few have managed in cricket's history.