'He can achieve...': Clive on Virat surpassing Sachin's record

NEW DELHI: Former West Indies captain,

Clive Lloyd

, expressed confidence in Indian batting maestro

Virat Kohli

's ability to achieve remarkable milestones in cricket, including surpassing

Sachin Tendulkar

's record of 100 international centuries.
Lloyd, who was in Kolkata for an event, praised Kohli's current form and stated that the former Indian captain, currently holding 80 international centuries, is young enough to achieve anything he sets his mind to.

"I do not know about the period, but he is young enough, and I am sure that the way he is playing he can achieve anything he wants to achieve, and it would be something to be quite happy to achieve," Lloyd conveyed to the media during the event.

While acknowledging the significance of

T20 cricket

, Lloyd advocated for a balanced cricketing calendar with an emphasis on

Test cricket

. He expressed his preference for more long-format matches, including three and five-match Test series, rather than shorter two-match series.
"At the moment probably they are having too many T20s and stuff. I would like to see a little bit more Test cricket. And if you are playing Test cricket, I would prefer three Test matches or five matches," Lloyd remarked.

He cited the recent India-South Africa Test series featuring only two Tests as an example of the format needing more prominence.
Lloyd characterized T20 cricket as an "exhibition" and emphasized the importance of Test cricket as an "examination."
He expressed concerns about young players focusing on hitting boundaries to secure contracts, stating, "Our youngsters seem to be getting this habit of trying to hit the ball out of the ground so that they can get a contract somewhere else. And I do not like that."
Addressing the recent criticism of pitches, particularly the Newlands pitch in Cape Town during the India-South Africa Test series, Lloyd defended the conditions, stating that there was nothing wrong with the pitch but rather it was about application. He emphasized that teams playing top-class cricket should be capable of handling different pitch conditions.
On the current Indian team, Lloyd praised its balance, citing strong spinners, pacers, and exciting batters. He commended the team's overall performance, highlighting their versatility across various aspects of the game.

(With inputs from ANI)