Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding has weighed in on the long-running Sachin Tendulkar versus Virat Kohli debate. Speaking to Times Now Sports, Holding picked Tendulkar as the more technically sound batter while highlighting Kohli’s impact on India’s cricketing culture.
The debate gained fresh attention after former South Africa batter AB de Villiers placed Kohli ahead of Tendulkar. Kohli amassed 4,894 runs in 68 Tests outside India and played a key role in overseas conditions, while Tendulkar scored 8,705 runs in 106 Tests at an average of 54.74.
Michael Holding Picks Sachin Tendulkar Over Virat Kohli on Batting Skill
Speaking to Times Now Sports, Michael Holding was asked about the Sachin Tendulkar-Virat Kohli debate. The former West Indies fast bowler rated Tendulkar higher in terms of pure batting skill but highlighted Kohli’s aggressive approach and ability to handle challenging conditions.
“Well, as far as just batting skill is concerned, in my opinion, Sachin Tendulkar was a better player than Virat Kohli. But, again, Virat Kohli took a different attitude to batting and I think that had a lot to do with what I mentioned earlier on,” Holding told Times Now Sports.
"He came up on pitches that offered more to the fast bowlers, so he had to find a way to deal with those pitches in India and outside of India. Virat Kohli, as AB de Villiers said, is in your face."
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Sachin Better Than Kohli? Michael Holding Delivers Verdict on AB Debate, Brings Dhoni Into the Conversation@ABdeVilliers17 @sachin_rt @BCCI @imVkohli @msdhoni #SunilGavaskar
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Michael Holding Brings MS Dhoni Into Virat Kohli Attitude Debate
Michael Holding then brought MS Dhoni into the discussion while explaining Virat Kohli’s strength of character. He argued that Kohli was not the only Indian cricketer who showed a willingness to stand up to opponents and embrace difficult challenges.
“He ain't backing down from anything. He wasn't the only one but there were others who followed him and there are others who played with him. Dhoni, you think is going to back away and back down from anyone or anything? Similar situation."
"I'm not trying to compare their batting skills now. I'm talking about attitude and how their strength of character was. So, I'm not going to argue what people are telling AB de Villiers to say,” Holding explained.
Michael Holding Rates Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar Technically Ahead of Virat Kohli
Michael Holding also included Sunil Gavaskar when discussing technical ability. He rated both Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar ahead of Virat Kohli in that specific area while acknowledging that opinions often depend on the generations analysts have watched closely.
“Virat Kohli was not as technically sound a player as Sachin Tendulkar nor even as Sunil Gavaskar. People are not going to think back that far because AB de Villiers perhaps never even saw Sunil but that is a situation that we find ourselves in."
"People talk about who they see and I believe in that as well. I talk about who I see. I don't believe in talking about things and people that I have never seen but Virat Kohli showed strength of character that added to his batting choice and that is what you need. You need both combined,” Holding concluded.
