One of the biggest indicators for great players is their prowess at a young age. While most cricketers take time to blossom, those with special talent are ready from the get-go. One of the best examples of this is Sachin Tendulkar, who started at 16 and had Test hundreds in South Africa, England, and Australia before turning 20. Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz also seems to be on the path to greatness.
A few days before turning 23, Gurbaz broke Tendulkar’s one record and levelled another. With a match and series-winning hundred against Bangladesh last night, the wicketkeeper batter has become the second youngest player to score eight ODI hundreds. He’s overtaken Tendulkar by just 8 days, but he’s clear of two modern greats, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam.
Youngest batters to score 8 ODI centuries
- Quinton de Kock (South Africa): 22 years, 312 days
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan): 22 years, 349 days
- Sachin Tendulkar (India): 22 years, 357 days
- Virat Kohli (India): 23 years, 27 days
- Babar Azam (Pakistan): 23 years, 280 days
Making his debut in 2021, Gurbaz had scored seven hundred prior to the Afghanistan vs Bangladesh 3rd ODI, and with his 101(120), he now jointly holds the record of scoring the most hundreds before turning 23 with Quinton de Kock and Tendulkar. Similar to the other record, he’s overtaken Kohli here as well.
Most ODI centuries before turning 23
- Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 8
- Quinton de Kock (South Africa) – 8
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan) – 8
- Virat Kohli (India) – 7
- Upul Tharanga (Sri Lanka) – 6
- Babar Azam (Pakistan) – 6
Fascinatingly, just seven players have scored a hundred for Afghanistan. Of these seven, Gurbaz has the most, and that too despite playing fewer matches than four of them. Get this: Gurbaz has scored more than 25% of Afghanistan’s total ODI centuries (30), and that number might get bigger given where he’s at in his career.
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