Dale Steyn Has His Say on the Tendulkar-Kohli Debate

Updated - 05 Dec 2018, 12:07 PM

Dale Steyn, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli
Getty Images

South Africa’s pacer Dale Steyn belongs to a special breed of fast bowlers. He loves to make the ball do the talking and doesn’t really sit down always to talk about his admiration. The veteran made a successful comeback to International cricket after sustaining multiple injuries in recent past. Steyn is ambitious of leading the bowling pack in the 2019 World Cup and has witnessed two different generations play. Meanwhile, he also had his say on the debate of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.

He carries the experience of bowling to former legend Sachin Tendulkar. Just like other bowlers, Steyn was fascinated by Tendulkar’s brilliance. The Indian cricketer is one of the greatest batsmen of all time and the pacer understand it pretty well.

Dale Steyn, South Africa
Dale Steyn (Credits – Twitter)

Dale Steyn plays it ‘safe’

It was against the Proteas that the ‘Master Blaster’ scored his double hundred in ODIs. The 35-year-old doesn’t believe in comparing Tendulkar to the modern great Virat Kohli. According to Steyn, both are great in the league of their own.

“The game has changed a lot since Sachin’s days. He was one of the pioneers for getting the game to push in terms of rate. He was the first guy to score a double hundred in One-day internationals. Whenever we played against them in India, he was always with a strike rate of above 100, while others used to remain around 80,” Steyn said.

Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Comparisons
Sachin Tendulkar with Virat Kohli. (Credits – Getty)

Steyn on the Tendulkar-Kohli debate

“However, these days 100 is a norm. There are lots of Sachin’s out there today. Kohli is a fantastic player. Had Sachin played in the same gear as Kohli, who is in the best form of his life right now, they would have been the same,” Steyn told NDTV.

Dale Steyn | Australia vs India 2018 |
Dale Steyn. Credit: Getty Images

The South African side forms a great pace attack with the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi in the mix and Steyn would surely like to bid adieu in style by sealing Proteas’ maiden World Cup title.

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India National Cricket Team Sachin Tendulkar South Africa national cricket team Virat Kohli