Indian greats tip Kohli to topple all

Former India captains Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammad Azharuddin expect their contemporary Virat Kohli to shatter most batting records in the game after the 28-year-old toppled two cricketing legends with his double century against Bangladesh.

And in an ominous warning for Australia's bowlers, Gavaskar says "the mind just boggles" when he thinks about what Kohli could do against the Aussies in their upcoming four-Test series.

Kohli's innings of 204 in Hyderabad was the fourth time in consecutive Test series that he'd posted a double century, passing the previous record of three held by Sir Donald Bradman and Rahul Dravid.

The right-hander now averages 68 from 23 Tests as India's skipper, including nine hundreds, drawing level with Azharuddin's mark of nine centuries from 47 Tests as skipper.

Quick Single: Kohli at the double on record-breaking day

Only Gavaskar stands in Kohli's way in terms of centuries by an Indian skipper, the former opener notching 11 tons in 47 Tests in charge.

And the older duo are in no doubt that the current skipper is on the path to legendary status.

"He’s a great in my book," Gavaskar told NDTV. "I think he’s on his way to becoming a legend.

"That’s something which is eventually going to happen sooner rather than later.

"The way he’s batting, he’s going to rewrite the whole record book.

"Most of the batting records, if not all of the batting records, are going to be his the way he’s going about scoring runs and scoring big runs in all forms of the game."

Azharuddin, who scored 22 centuries in 99 Tests for India, agreed that most batting records were well within reach of a man whose thirst for runs seems unquenchable.

"Records are meant to be broken and I think the form he is (in) at the moment most batting records will tumble," Azharuddin told xtratime.in.

"The hallmark of a great player is to do well in any condition and under any situation. Virat has proved that time and again in recent times.

"The one thing that stays apart for me is his ability to stay focused and score runs in any format consistently.

"He is well aware of what is happening and has the ability to read the situation."

Kohli's double centuries against the West Indies, New Zealand, England (all last year) and now Bangladesh are his first in Test cricket having previously passed 150 just twice in his career.

Of his nine centuries he has scored as captain, seven have been scores of 140 or more, while just one of his seven centuries he posted when he wasn't been captain topped the 120 mark.

It's a record the skipper himself is fully aware of and says he made a conscious effort to turn all of his centuries into big, match-winning performances.

"I think because of captaincy you tend to go on more than what you usually would as a normal batsman," Kohli told BCCI.TV.

"The room for complacency is no more present when you become captain.

"That has something to do with me playing long innings. I have always wanted to play long innings and my first seven or eight hundreds were not even 120-plus scores.

"After that I made a conscious effort to bat long, control my excitement or not be complacent.

"I have worked on my fitness as well over the years. I feel like I can go on for longer periods now.

"I don’t feel tired easily, and I definitely don’t get satisfied when I get a Test hundred."

Gavaskar said the Australians had every right to be fearful of the Indian superstar as they seek to reverse their poor recent record in the subcontinent over the coming weeks.

"Four double hundreds in four consecutive series against four different oppositions and there’s still Australia to come," Gavaskar said.

"The mind just boggles at the thought of what is going to happen in the next four Test matches."