Former Australia wicketkeeper and explosive opener Adam Gilchrist feels there is a big gulf between Sachin Tendulkar and the rest of the top batsmen, something that makes it almost impossible for anyone to get anywhere near the legend's landmark of 100 international centuries.
Giving the example of Ricky Ponting, who has recently retired from the ODI format, Gilchrist said 29 centuries separate Tendulkar from his former skipper.
"That speaks about Tendulkar's greatness -- the gap between him and the rest. He is way ahead. I really doubt that anybody would ever break this record," Gilchirst said, in an interview from Mohali.
"If you look at the records, Ponting is the world's best batsmen next to Tendulkar. But his combined tally [of Test and one-day centuries] is 71 [41-30]," he said.
Tendulkar's critics could argue that he has played more matches against countries like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, he said adding that even if 10 centuries were added to Ponting's, he would still be 19 centuries away.
"Tendulkar's record is truly unique, remarkable. He is playing with the same intensity for the last 22 years. That shows how big a player Tendulkar is," he said.
Gilchrist, who was part of an invincible side that dominated world cricket winning a hat-trick of World Cups from 1999-2007, said Indians need to be patient in the coming days.
"Rahul Dravid has just retired... Now only VVS Laxman and Tendulkar are playing. It would be huge boots to fill when Tendulkar goes away. We faced a similar phase. But the fans need to patient," he said.
Gilchrist feels that India have cricketing talent in abundance but the supporters need to be patient.
"Undoubtedly, there is no dearth of talent in India. In fact, it's just the opposite. The fans just need to be patient with the youngsters like Virat Kohli," he said.
With his recent exploits, Kohli proved that he was ready to step up and, the Australian said, "To me, he is one of the best players in the world cricket at the moment."