Virat Kohli has the second moist centuries in international cricket with 86 tons.
In the first ODI against New Zealand, Kohli was in excellent form, hitting 74 off just 51 deliveries to lead India to victory in a low-scoring match. But Gavaskar brought up an intriguing scenario, saying that captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer might have been in a challenging situation if Kohli had been at the crease for a longer period of time.
The two batters may have had to decide between concluding the game quickly and giving Kohli a chance to get his century as India got closer to the goal.
Given that Kohli is attempting to reach the historic milestone of 100 international hundreds, the potential takes on much greater significance. Notably, Kohli has 30 Test centuries and one T20I century. He has 55 centuries in ODIs, totalling his century count to 86, with only Sachin Tendulkar ahead of him with 100 international centuries.
While acknowledging that winning a game must continue to be the team's first priority, Gavaskar contended that assisting a player in reaching such a milestone might be a cause for celebration as long as it doesn't affect the outcome.
"Indians have always been fond of records, and so there's always a debate about the rights and wrongs of going for it. One thing for sure is that 99% of those who say they don't play for records are actually incapable, talent- and temperament-wise setting any, and so it's easy for them to say so.
There is not a single Indian cricket fan who does not want Kohli to get to 100 international centuries. We are all cheering for him to get there and so, if there's an occasion where some other teammate sacrifices his runs to allow him the chance to get there, the glory will not be just Kohli's but for all Indian cricket fans too," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-day.
However, Kohli fell for 74 runs in the chase, which also meant that Gill and Iyer didn’t have to face the possibility of managing the chase around Kohli reaching his century.
"Kohli got out in the 70s. Gill and Iyer were thus spared any blowback if the winning runs had been hit with Kohli unbeaten in the 90s. Yes, it's a team game, but it's also beneficial for the team if one of its members, especially a star player, gets to a personal milestone without affecting the team's chances of winning," Gavaskar pointed out.
India and New Zealand will clash in the third ODI in Hamilton on November 10. India leads the five-game ODI series 2-0.