After the third ODI against South Africa, India will host New Zealand for three ODIs in January. In 2026, India are scheduled to play 18 ODIs across six three-match series, bringing the confirmed total to 19 matches. Although the FTP here will be at least 4/5 matches for India in Asia Cup 2027 depending on if they reach the Final and 11 matches of the World Cup if India manages to reach the Final. There will be some scheduled ODIs before September 2027 for which the fixtures are yet to be released.
So India will at least play 43 to 45 ODIs if not more and Virat Kohli needs 16 more hundreds in it. Can Kohli score 16 hundreds in the next 45 ODIs?
Kohli, who made his debut in 2008, has played 307 ODIs and scored 53 centuries in this format which makes it a ton in every 5.79 matches. He first scored a hundred in December 2009. Since then, the equation has improved slightly, to 5.54 games for a century. If we go by the current rate, he will be able to score nine hundreds in his next 45 ODIs, taking his overall tally in the 90s, but still well short of the 100-mark.
If we consider recent form, Kohli has scored nine tons in his last 42 matches, or a ton every 4.66 matches, slightly better than his career rate of centuries per match. Still not good enough to get the hundred centuries mark. During his peak between 2016 and 2019, Kohli scored 4,778 runs in 76 ODIs at an average of 80.98 with 20 hundreds, scoring a hundred every 3.8 games.
Assuming Virat Kohli plays another 45 ODI matches he would need to get a century every 2.81 innings which makes the task a bit difficult. Kohli has throughout his career done things which sometimes seemed tough or improbable.
So given his current form in this format it is very likely he will reach close to 95 international centuries if he keeps up his form by the end of the World Cup 2027. Kohli will need a miracle to score 100 centuries by the end of World Cup 2027 but he will likely get very close to it and if he plays a few more series after the World Cup 2027 it is highly probable that Kohli will surely score 100 hundreds in international cricket.
