Virat Kohli Doesn't Need Power Or Leadership - Sanjay Manjrekar Believes Batter Enjoys Being On The Field

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar talked about the similarity between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. He pointed out that they both enjoy playing cricket and want to be on the field.

Sanjay Manjrekar’s comment came during an interaction with journalist Vimal Kumar on his YouTube channel. He highlighted how Virat Kohli doesn’t need the power or leadership as he just needs to be on the field, which was quite evident during the Asia Cup 2023 game against Bangladesh.

Sanjay Manjrekar also added that Virat Kohli doesn’t have a hunger to captain the team as he has done that for a long time. He remarked that being with teammates, going to the ground, and being part of winning moments are more important for him. He explained:

“The one similarity between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar is that both of them enjoy playing cricket. They want to be on the field. He was not part of the team for the game against Bangladesh but was still on the field. I don’t think Virat Kohli wants power or leadership.”

“He just wants to play and it looks like he enjoys being a part of the team. He captained the team for a very long time, so there is no scope for an unfulfilled dream. Being with the team, travelling with players, going to the ground, and being part of winning moments are more important to him than having power.”

Virat Kohli is currently the leading batter in all three formats of the game and him being put on the same page with Sachin Tendulkar and Viv Richards speaks volumes about what he has achieved in his career spanning 15 years so far. Since his debut, he has been the backbone of the team in all three formats and has won many games single-handedly.

It will be very difficult for Kohli to reach 51 Test centuries – Sanjay Manjrekar On Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has broken many records of Sachin Tendulkar. He’s on the verge of breaking his most centuries record in ODIs as he has 47 tons. However, the wait remains for him to break Tendulkar’s record of Test centuries. He has 29 Test tons to his name while the batting great has 51 hundreds.

Sanjay Manjrekar feels that it’ll be difficult for Virat Kohli to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of Test centuries. He hailed both as special players. He explained:

“Sachin Tendulkar has 51 hundreds, 17 more than what Sunil Gavaskar finished with. For a good player, accumulating runs in ODIs is comparatively easy, as bowlers don’t always try to take a wicket. Tendulkar and Kohli are special because they also have a lot of Test hundreds. However, I believe it will be very difficult for Kohli to reach 51 Test centuries.”

Virat Kohli has tasted a huge amount of success in his career and is still breaking numerous records along the way. He has set similar kinds of standards in all three formats, averaging around 50.