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Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has labelled Virat Kohli to be the greatest of all time in ODI cricket. Kohli registered his 52nd ODI century in the first ODI of the three-match series against South Africa in Ranchi on November 30.

Gavaskar spoke highly of the star Indian batter and claimed that there is no question on the greatness of the legend's legacy in 50-over cricket.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. I mean, it’s not just me, I think those who have played with him and against him, they all agree that he is the greatest in the one-day format. Look, you score 52 hundreds, that actually sets you up right up there in the stratosphere, so to speak," stated Gavaskar on Star Sports.

Gavaskar brought in Ricky Ponting's previous opinion on Kohli, cheekily mentioning how hard it is to earn praise from an Australian.

“I just heard that Ricky Ponting said that he’s the best that he’s seen in one-day cricket. So, I mean, when somebody, an Australian captain, they will agree that it is rare, very rare to get praise from an Australian. Very, very difficult. So, if an Australian says that, you know, he was the best, then I don’t think there is any argument for that,” he added.

To conclude, Gavaskar pointed out that Kohli has also surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's record for having most centuries in a single format by scoring 52 in ODIs, eclipsing Tendulkar's Test record of 51. Although he agreed that the two formats are completely different, he reckoned that Kohli stands at an equal footing with Tendulkar.

“Sachin has been absolutely right up there with 51 Hundreds. But when you pass the great Sachin Tendulkar, then you know where you stand,” he said.

India claimed a narrow 17-run win to take the lead in the 50-over leg of the all-format series against the Proteas. Kohli was adjudged the Player of the Match for his stellar effort with the bat. The Men in Blue will take on South Africa in Raipur (December 3) and Visakhapatnam (December 6) in the next two ODIs.