It has been a debate going around for years now between the cricket pundits and for all the right reasons in the world too. Sachin Tendulkar retired at the age of 41 at his home ground of Wankhade in 2013. Ever since, everyone argued whether there will be a batsman of the same class who would be able to achieve the same kind of heights. Around the same time when the legend retired, a player was emerging as the biggest star of Indian cricket and today he is simply known as the king. Virat Kohli sure has made everyone think once again whether records will be made or they will stay the same. But the bigger picture, will Virat Kohli succeed more than Sachin Tendulkar by the end of his career? Let's check out some of these points in order to have a better argument and analysis in the comparison between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar!
Longevity
Sachin Tendulkar started off in international cricket way back in 1989. He was just 16 when he made his mark and lasted over 25 years in the same circuit. Virat Kohli made his debut in 2008 and it has been 12 years for him in this scene. By the looks of it, Sachin Tendulkar will easily take the cake unless we are in for a miracle from Virat Kohli's side. He is already in his early 30s and there's barely a chance he will play cricket in his 40s too. Lasting over 25 years is only going to be a dream for other players since it is almost an impossible feat to achieve for anyone. You cannot play with the same intensity in cricket for 2 and a half decades unless you are the master blaster.
Consistency
Virat Kohli made his debut in international cricket in 2008 and ever since he has kept on improving his game, adapting himself according the circumstances and the formats of the game. To have an average of 50+ in all 3 formats of cricket is an uphill task but he has been able to do it from time to time. It is not just about the average but the valuable knocks that he plays which always makes a noise. Sachin Tendulkar himself was very consistent in most of his career but there were several downs for him and he was put under immense pressure. After coming back from tennis elbow surgery, he struggled for well over 10 months to get to his original form. As for VK, he has barely had a few bad series and he always comes back like a lion. He has shown great consistency till now but no one really knows what the future awaits.
Leadership quality
Back in late 90s, Indian cricket suffered from enormous amount of controversies. Fixing scandal led to the suspension of a few players and amidst all of it, Sachin Tendulkar was made the captain of the team. The performances went from bad to worse and master blaster had to quit captaincy which further led to Sourav Ganguly's arrival as the leader of the group. It might just go down as one of the very few dark spots on Sachin Tendulkar's career, he was never a good captain. While in comparison, Virat Kohli has shown how it is truly done as he has become the most successful Indian test captain ever over the likes of Ganguly, Dhoni and Azharuddin. In this aspect, Virat Kohli clearly takes the edge and it is going to stay the same until the end of his career.
Multiple dimensions
It is very important for a cricketer to be much more than just a batsman or a bowler. In order to grow as a cricketer, you need to perform in every department of cricket. Virat Kohli is a tremendous batsman, no doubt, but in terms of bowling, he has not really set the stage on fire ever and it looks very unlikely that he will create some magic in his bowling in the time to come. While in case of Sachin Tendulkar, he has a couple of 5fers in ODI cricket and has been awarded man of the match solely based on his bowling. As a fielder however, Virat Kohli is better for sure. But when you combine all 3 departments, it is hard to match the contribution of the god of cricket.
Respect and Sportsmanship
Let's be honest, there will not be too many cricketers with the same level of respect and sportsman spirit that Sachin Tendulkar had. He always played the game like a warrior but stayed calm at the same point of time. Virat Kohli is a very aggressive character on the field and it might benefit the game and him to do better. But there is no comparison at all between the two in terms of respect and Sportsmanship. Sachin Tendulkar is standing leagues ahead and Virat Kohli might want to improve this aspect of his personality because it is one of the rare things his critics can talk about time and again.
Virat Kohli has surely rewritten the books of history. His charisma on the field is second to none and his aggressive captaincy helps the team more often than not too. But if you have the comparison between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar right now, the latter is in a much better position to be called the best Indian cricket has ever produced. The years to follow will give a better picture of how much of a success story Virat Kohli is going to become. His form has sort of dipped but who knows what is in store after this pandemic ends. We might see Virat Kohli in his prime again and it will be a cakewalk for him to smash most of Sachin Tendulkar's records.
What do you think? Will Virat Kohli surpass Sachin Tendulkar by the end of his career? Let me know in the comments below!!
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