Virat Kohli speaks up on constant comparisons of him with Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar (left) and Virat Kohli (right) (Source: Twitter)
Choosing between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli as the best batter has perhaps been the subject of the longest-running argument in cricket history. The two have dominated the run-scoring rankings in Tests and ODIs, with the former being acclaimed as the “God of Cricket” by fans and the other being regarded as a “modern-era great.”
The topic raised the issue when Kohli broke each of Sachin’s batting records, which was when it first began during Kohli’s early years with the Indian side. The whole cricketing world is now backing Kohli to surpass Sachin’s incredible total of 100 international hundreds, leaving him as the only batter still surviving. However, Kohli revealed something “embarrassing” about being compared to Sachin during his career on Monday, April 17.
In a Jio Cinema interview with veteran Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa, Kohli acknowledged that, unlike Sachin, he was never a player who could make things happen at a young age. Contrary to what his admirers believed, he said that he was “good and determined” but did not assert that he was a “gifted” cricketer.
Sachin Tendulkar always has been emotion for me: Virat Kohli
“I say this to people all the time I had talent but the most complete or wasn’t someone who you make you go like ‘oh my god, that’s unbelievable’. I was good and was able to do a little bit with my talent, but I know I wasn’t the most gifted guy around in terms of taking things by storm or making things happen. I was determined from a very young age, but I have no issues in admitting that I never ever in my wildest dream did I think sitting here at 34 in this situation,” Kohli was quoted as saying on Jio Cinema.
Thus, Kohli said, the constant comparison to Sachin has always left him feeling “embarrassed” and he has instead “laughed it off” each time, adding that despite the fact that statistics tell fans a different tale, “people have no idea about the game.”
“I feel embarrassed when I am compared to Sachin though I get where these people are coming from with all those statistics and stuff. But these stats tell you a different story. The impact a player leaves on you as a child growing up is very different. just laugh it off every time. These people have no idea about the game,” the right-hand batter stated.
“Sachin Tendulkar always has been emotion for me, if you speak to anyone, they look at him as their own because everyone has faith and trust in him, he was the source of inspiration and comfort, when he scored runs, life was good,” Kohli added. “Nobody should be compared with Sachin and Viv Richards because they revolutionised the game in their era and the belief people had in them was rare, it rare to have that belief in one player,” the 34-yea-old asserted.
