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If Sachin Tendulkar is considered the God of cricket, then Virat Kohli can most definitely be called the king of cricket. Saying anything about God these days is not “safe” at all, but Kohli’s recent performance has given rise to a new debate – is Virat better than Sachin?
Although, most experts with a classical approach believe that players from different eras cannot be compared.
No doubt the cricket played today is very different from what it was during Bradman’s era. The game played by Sunil Gavaskar saw many changes during Tendulkar’s time. Similarly, a difference can be seen between Tendulkar’s era and Kohli’s era.
What doesn’t change is the struggle between a bat and a ball and from this arises the comparison between players.
This is the era where opposing teams are terrified of Team India. Just like at one point people were in awe of Bradman’s team, or how Clive Lloyd used to strike fear in the hearts of his opponents. Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting’s teams have also been undefeatable during their heydays.
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Virat Kohli’s batting and captaincy have been a major contributor in bringing the Indian cricket team to this level. His presence makes bowlers’ knees quake in their boots. Matching his record seems like a near impossible task for any Indian batsman. He is indisputably the best batsman today.
During the 90s, Tendulkar’s bat worked wonders and with each strike, the Indian team kept attaining new heights, qualitatively changing team’s morale and ultimately becoming world champions
Sachin was called God, he was worshiped by each indian cricket fan – 200 Test matches, 100 centuries in international cricket is no small feat. He was compared with Don Bradman. Wisden called him the biggest cricket player after Bradman. That is why, if today someone says Virat Kohli is better than Tendulkar, it sounds a little odd.
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If Tendulkar has played 463 ODI matches then Kohli also has 202 ODIs to his credit. If Tendulkar hit 100 centuries, Kohli also has 50 to his name so far. It is true that in his latter days, Tendulkar got to work with excellent batsmen like Sehwag, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman.
The batting quality of that team is considered to be the best in Indian cricket so far. Kohli has Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, and Pujara who are no less than Tendulkar’s companions.
It is true that Tendulkar’s career is over and Kohli’s is still going on, so a lot of ups and downs can still come by. Hence, it is easier to assess Tendulkar with much more surety. Despite him being a great batsman, he had two major shortcomings. It has always been said about Tendulkar that he didn’t bat as well under pressure as he did without any pressure.
In 463 ODIs, Tendulkar’s batting average was 45. But while chasing a target, his batting average dropped. He has played 232 matches while chasing opposition’s score in which his batting average dropped to 42. That means, during the first innings, when the pressure was low, his performance was better.
But Kohli’s real magic is seen during the second innings. In the first innings, he is a bit carefree but in the second one under pressure, his batting has a flair which is better than that of Tendulkar. Kohli has batted in 102 out of 232 chasing opposition’s score . Instead of going down, his batting average has gone up to 61, which is an astonishing record. Chasing this record, the Indian team becomes even more formidable in victory. If Tendulkar’s winning average has been 55, for Kohli it is 84 runs. Somewhere, Tendulkar is left behind.
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That means here too it is proven that Kohli bats much better than Tendulkar under pressure. He is able to carry the weight of the team all alone and surpasses Tendulkar in his capacity to win. While chasing a target, if Tendulkar has hit 14 centuries, Kohli has 17 to his credit.
At the rate Kohli is playing, he will soon leave Tendulkar far behind.
Tendulkar’s other major shortcoming was his captaincy.
Eventually this led him to quit the captaincy. Tendulkar was captain during 25 Tests and 73 ODIs. His batting (as a Captain) figure in the test matches was 51 runs, which can be considered a pretty good score. But here too, Kohli comes out much better with respect to batting.
Kohli’s batting average during his captaincy has been 61, ten points higher than Tendulkar. In ODIs too, Tendulkar is miles behind Kohli. Tendulkar scored an average of about 38 runs in 73 innings. Kohli got ODI captaincy much later. So far, he has played 40 innings in which his average has been around 75.
Tendulkar, on the other hand, got crushed under the responsibility, and statistics reflect the same. But when Tendulkar had little to no responsibility, his game was enviable. Batting in the beginning of a Test match, a time when there is no psychological pressure of chasing an opposing teams’ score, Tendulkar has scored runs at an average of around 72.
After the first team’s batting, when the Indian team played the first innings, then Tendulkar’s average is 63, which suddenly falls to 43 in the second innings of the Indian team. In the fourth inning, the record is even worse, just 37 runs.
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During Tendulkar’s time, it was said about VVS Laxman that he stayed in rhythm as the team got in trouble, his game would get even more beautiful as things progressed. Similarly, Gundappa Vishwanath was also famous. Australian captain Steve Waugh would become almost undefeatable in tough times.
Javed Miandad was also a similar batsman. So, with all these examples, the argument that Tendulkar was under undue pressure isn’t valid. If the pressure won’t be on Tendulkar, then who else?
I believe that Tendulkar is great, he is the god of cricket, but Virat Kohli surpasses him.
This is what the statistics show. Tendulkar’s admirers might not like this statement. But instead they should be happy that Kohli is just taking the legacy forward. Records are meant to be broken. In a comparison between the two great players, my first preference is Kohli, Tendulkar comes second.
(The writer is an author and spokesperson of AAP. He can be reached at @ashutosh83B This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same. This article was originally published on QuintHindi.)
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Published: 23 Nov 2017,05:27 PM IST