Virat Kohli's barren patch with the bat has continued although Chris Gayle has backed the legendary batter, saying he will score a century in the Champions Trophy. The mega event gets underway on 19 February, with India taking on Bangladesh a day later. Kohli scored just 190 runs in the BGT, followed by a six-run effort against the Railways in the Ranji Trophy. The 36-year-old missed the first ODI against England due to a sore knee and scored just runs in the second ODI. Despite his troubles of late, Gayle backed Virat to score more than 200 runs and surpass the West Indies legend as the highest run-scorer in the history of the Champions Trophy. Virat Kohli is still the 'best player in the world' "He is still the best player in the world regardless of the form, Virat Kohli is still the best player, the stats prove that how many centuries across formats he has scored as well," Gayle was quoted as saying by PTI. "It's just one of those things that we cricketers go through in patches. I know it is coming at the back end of his career as well, but these things do happen, so he just needs to pick himself up and come back again," Gayle added. The two played together for Royal Challengers Bangalore and shared a great camaraderie. With India set to play the third ODI on Wednesday, which will be the final fixture for the Men in Blue before their Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh, Gayle feels Kohli will easily break his record. How many runs does Kohli need to break Gayle's record? The Windies great is the all-time leading run-scorer in the Champions Trophy, previously known as the Knockout Trophy, with 791 runs from 17 matches. Kohli has 529 runs from 13 games and needs just 263 runs to surpass his former RCB teammate. "It is easy for him just to get 200 runs (more to surpass Gayle). I don t know how many games they will be playing but I am sure he can get over 200 runs, and I am sure he will get a century for sure, so it's just a matter of time before he goes on to break that record." Rohit Sharma surpassed Chris Gayle's record for the second-most sixes in ODI history, and the Hitman was hailed as the 'new king' by the flamboyant opener. "Congratulations to Rohit, sports always need a new entertainer and Rohit has been entertaining all these years as well I have done it alongside him. So he is the new king in town now. So congrats to him, and hopefully, he goes on to hit more sixes," Gayled added.Original Article