It is rare in modern cricket for any batter to be realistically compared with the towering records of Sachin Tendulkar. Yet for more than a decade, Virat Kohli appeared to be the one cricketer with the stature, consistency, and hunger to potentially surpass the Indian legend’s most iconic milestone, 100 international centuries. However, with Kohli’s unexpected retirement from Test cricket on Monday, that dream now seems all but over.

In a poetic twist of fate, Tendulkar had once named Kohli and Rohit Sharma as the only two players he believed could break his record. That statement came during an award ceremony shortly after Tendulkar notched his own 100th international ton. But fast forward to this week, and both Kohli and Rohit have now stepped away from Test cricket, narrowing their chances of making history.