Former Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar is said to be one of the greatest batters to ever play the game, and he owns quite a few records that are almost impossible to break. He has scored the most runs in ODI and Test formats, whereas he also has scored the most centuries in both formats.
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Indian batter Virat Kohli is also one of the best batters the world has ever seen. Kohli was not at his best in the last few years, but he has been great in the ODIs in recent times. He recently scored his 46th ODI century, and he is just 3 centuries shy of equalling Tendulkar’s record for most ODI centuries.
The debate between both of these batters have been going on for a long time now as Kohli looks the closest to beating Tendulkar in a few of his records. Kohli has always said that he cannot compare himself with Tendulkar as he started watching cricket because of him.
When Harbhajan Singh opined his views on the Sachin Tendulkar vs Virat Kohli debate
Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh opined his views on the Sachin Tendulkar vs Virat Kohli debate in 2017, where he revealed why he will prefer Tendulkar over Kohli. Singh said that the Indian team performed well above expectations as Kohli took a lot of responsibility on him, and the team responded as well.
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However, he compared the era of Tendulkar and Kohli, where he said that cricket was very tough in Tendulkar’s time, and the bowlers he faced during his tenure were quite difficult to face. Singh added that the cricketing standards went down after the rise of T20 cricket.
“Virat (Kohli) is a very intense cricketer. He likes to take on responsibility and expects the same from his team. That has really worked well and the team has performed beyond expectations,” Harbhajan Singh had said during a session at the ‘SporTale’ sport-themed literary festival.
“Still, I will place Sachin Tendulkar higher than Kohli because the kind of bowlers he faced were better than what they are now. Overall cricketing standards have gone down over the years. In a T20 match a team takes 4-5 wickets in 10 overs and then expects the same in a one-day match.”
It will be interesting to see how Kohli’s numbers will fare when he will retire from all formats of the game. Although, it will be difficult for him to break the majority of Tendulkar’s records.
