'Virat Kohli will break my records': BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla recalls Sachin Tendulkar's prophecy

BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla has revisited his conversations with Sachin Tendulkar, revealing that the Indian great had long believed a young Virat Kohli possessed the ability to one day challenge and surpass his towering batting records.

Shukla, who witnessed the careers of both Tendulkar and Kohli closely during his time as a BCCI administrator, told ANI about the period leading up to Sachin’s retirement in 2013. He recalled trying to persuade the batting legend to continue for another year or two so he could complete 25 years in international cricket. Tendulkar, however, was unwavering in his decision.



“What he has done as a cricketer is very difficult. There are no comparisons. And if he wanted, he could have played for another year or two,” Shukla said. “I told him to at least complete 25 years and play for another year. He said, ‘No. Raju bhai, I feel that I should leave now.’ He was very honest. ‘The day I feel that I cannot give 100 per cent to the game, I will give it up. I will walk away.’ That is what he did.”

Shukla added that Tendulkar personally informed him about his decision and refused to reconsider despite repeated requests. “He called me up and said that he was going to announce his retirement. I told him not to do it and to wait for a year. He said, ‘No, I think I will quit,’ and he gave it up.”

Tendulkar bowed out during the home series against West Indies, playing his final Test at the Wankhede Stadium in November 2013. He scored 74 in his last innings and retired as the leading run-scorer in international cricket, with 34,357 runs in 664 matches, 100 centuries and 164 fifties. His career also included a World Cup triumph in 2011 on home soil.

When asked whether anyone could replace Tendulkar, Shukla recalled a lunch conversation where the legend was asked who might break his records. “Records are made to be broken,” Tendulkar replied, before naming Kohli as the man capable of doing it.

To a large extent, that belief has played out. Kohli has broken several of Tendulkar’s records, particularly in white-ball cricket. He now owns the record for most ODI centuries with 54, overtaking Tendulkar’s 51, and produced the most prolific World Cup campaign by a batter in 2023 with 765 runs.

While Kohli did not scale the heights expected in Tests, finishing with 9,230 runs in 123 matches, his dominance in limited-overs cricket has set him apart. With nearly 19,000 runs and 55 centuries across ODIs and T20Is, along with major ICC titles and individual awards, Kohli has firmly established himself as one of the greatest limited-overs batters the game has seen, fulfilling a prophecy Sachin Tendulkar quietly made years ago.


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