NEW DELHI: Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar on Sunday lauded Virat Kohli as the finest one-day cricketer of all time, pointing to his world-record tally of centuries as proof of his unparalleled stature in the format.

Kohli brought up his 52nd ODI century on Sunday, scoring 135 off 120 balls to guide India to 349 for 8 against South Africa in the first ODI.

"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," Gavaskar told Jiostar.

"Look, you scored 52 hundreds. That actually sets you up right up there in stratosphere, so to speak."

The former India captain also noted that even Australia’s Ricky Ponting had praised Kohli’s abilities.

"I just heard that Ricky Ponting said that Kohli’s the best that he’s seen in one-day cricket. I mean, when an Australian captain says that -- and everyone will agree that it is rare, very rare to get praise from an Australian -- that Kohli was the best, then I don’t think there’s any argument with that."

Gavaskar highlighted that surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record of 51 ODI hundreds puts Kohli in a class of his own.

"I’m also, you know, 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.

The secret behind Kohli’s success

Gavaskar attributed Kohli’s ODI dominance to his clarity of temperament and deep understanding of his own game.

“He understands his game very well, that’s the key. I think as a batter sometimes you see other players and you think, look I can bat like him. But no, he’s got a different pickup, different way of bringing the bat speed down. You’ve got to know what is your strength as a batter," he said.

Gavaskar added that Kohli sticks to his method rather than copying others.

"This is my strength, I know this is what I can do well and you stick to that, and that’s what Kohli does. You see that he does not, even when the off spinner was bowling, he wasn’t looking, Rohit Sharma hit him mid-wicket. But Kohli hit it straight towards long on, straight bat. He didn’t try to do like Sharma did.

"That is the key, knowing his strength, sticking to it, because he knows he’s got how many runs in that. He’s got 51 centuries and now 52nd. So he knows the way he plays is best suited for him,” Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar on Conrad’s controversial remark

Gavaskar also commented on South Africa coach Shukri Conrad’s infamous “grovel” remark on India, calling it "ill-advised."

"It may have been an ill-advised remark -- wrong time, wrong place. I hope that in his next media interaction, he addresses it. I don’t think an apology is necessary; I personally don’t believe in apologies," he said.

"But acknowledging it and making up for it would be accepted by everyone. These things happen. In the heat of the moment, you can get carried away and say something that goes a bit over the top. Given the strong connection between Indian and South African cricket over the last 30 years, I think he can simply clarify that he got a bit carried away."

(With PTI Inputs)