Gautam Gambhir Explains Why Sachin Tendulkar Is Better ODI Batsman Than Virat Kohli
Published - 21 May 2020, 06:03 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:28 AM
There is a never-ending debate on the better batsman in international cricket between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Even though the India captain Virat Kohli has time and again said that it will be incorrect to compare him with Sachin Tendulkar as he has grew up idolising the master blaster.
Sachin Tendulkar was a class above the rest and a role model to many, including the likes of Indian captain Virat Kohli and former South Africa batsman AB de Villiers. Tendulkar started early and went too far in his career to register numerous records in international cricket. Apart from entering the record books too often, Tendulkar also had a long and successful career.
Virat Kohli has drawn a lot of parallels to the ‘master blaster’ in modern day cricket. He has made record breaking look easy and is the heart of the team now. Significantly, Kohli has also broken some of the records set by Tendulkar and has grown up to be the next big thing in international cricket. With 43 ODI centuries to his name, Kohli is only six behind to equal Tendulkar’s record of 49, in lesser innings. For his brilliance with the bat, he has often been compared to Tendulkar.
Gautam Gambhir: The rules has changed and it has helped new batsmen
Gautam Gambhir believes since the time Sachin Tendulkar played the rules in cricket have changed drastically. It has helped the new batsmen score runs in a much easier manner. Gambhir assessed the change in cricket then and now and picked Tendulkar over Kohli in white-ball cricket.
“Sachin Tendulkar, because probably with one white ball and four fielders inside the circle, not five fielders outside, it will be Sachin Tendulkar for me. It’s difficult because Virat Kohli has done phenomenally well but I think the rules have changed as well, which has helped a lot of new batters. The new generation, with 2 new balls, no reverse swing, nothing for the finger spin, five fielders inside for the 50 overs, probably that makes batting much easier,” Gautam Gambhir said during Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected.
Incidentally, Kohli has notched up 43 centuries in ODI cricket, only six behind batting legend Sachin Tendulkar.
