Kolkata: Comparisons between players across generations are a common phenomenon. Sports Crunch carried a piece that makes a comparative analysis of Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. To take it forward, the debate whether Kohli can surpass his idol, Tendulkar is worth a mention. The Turbunator Harbhajan Singh who has shared the dressing room with both, has his money on The Little Master. In a recent interview to NDTV, Singh categorically with due respect, to the current Indian skipper, says Tendulkar will always be the Numero Uno.
“Virat Kohli is champion player but Sachin Tendulkar will always remain number one. I hope Virat breaks all batting records, but Sachin will remain Sachin. Most people in this country, including Virat and me, started playing cricket because of Sachin. If you ask Virat, he too will say the same. Paaji is Paaji,” Harbhajan was quoted by NDTV.
To reiterate, it’s an age-old practice to draw comparisons between players. Even Tendulkar was equated with Sunil Gavaskar in the beginning of the former’s career. And, now it’s Kohli’s turn. It’s true, the Indian captain is in sublime touch and can do no wrong, if his current form is to go by, yet, we should show some patience before equating him with Tendulkar. Nobody can have the final word on this. Here is Tendulkar who has 100 international hundreds and over 35,000 international runs, feats that would be tough for Kohli to achieve. The reason is simple, Kohli may not have the luxury of playing for 24 long years at the international level, which Tendulkar had.
The Mumbaikar was 16, when he made his debut for India, while Kohli was almost 20 when he started playing for the country. Now, 28, Kohli has only played 54 Test matches, 179 ODIs and 48 T20 Internationals.
If on an average, India plays 10 Tests a year, then by the time, Kohli is 40, he will have played close to 180 Tests (if at all he figures in all of them). If he scores the same amount of runs after every 54 Test matches, then there is a possibility, he would surpass Tendulkar’s overall tally of 15,921 runs. But with due respect to Kohli, it would be no cakewalk. In ODIs, though, Kohli has some possibility of breaking Tendulkar’s record as the latter is 10,671 runs behind the legend. If Kohli gets to play another 200 ODIs and if he can maintain this form, he would go past Tendulkar. But then guys we are talking of more than 10,000 runs!!
Kohli has one edge over Tendulkar, as he gets to play in the T20 format too, which Tendulkar missed out on (he has played only one T20 International). The legend has a total of 34, 357 international runs in his pocket. On the contrary, Kohli at this stage has 13,915 runs which is 20,442 runs behind Tendulkar’s. But even if we consider the additional advantage Kohli has, it would require a tremendous amount of consistency to reach the mountain peak Tendulkar is stationed at.
In terms of international hundreds, Kohli has 43 as compared to Tendulkar’s 100. Kohli, subject to his form and tenacity, could enter the 100 ton club, but then it is purely hypothetical. The shelf-life of a cricketer hardly crosses the 40 mark barring some exceptions though, but even then, these 40-something cricketers face the danger of getting dropped.
This article is not meant to demean Kohli, but it only tries to explore the possibilities of Kohli going past Tendulkar statistically. Knowing Kohli and his passion for the game, one may not be surprised if he continues to play for India for the coming 12 years or so, but keeping in mind, the pressure and hectic schedule that international cricketers have to survive on, it looks tough to maintain the same level of fitness. In the sub-continent, once you are in your thirties, the countdown begins.
Instead of looking at statistics, it would be better to marvel at the way Kohli is improving as a cricketer. He has a lot to give to Indian cricket and he surely will, but we would do him a big favour by not dragging him into any comparison with Tendulkar. In terms of statistics, it looks unlikely, that Kohli would demolish all the records made by Tendulkar. So, let’s leave it there.