AB de Villiers on Virat Kohli-Sachin Tendulkar
Tendulkar scored 8,705 of his Test runs away from home, accounting for around 55% of his career tally. Kohli, meanwhile, made 4,774 runs in 66 Tests outside India. Tendulkar scored 5,387 runs in 63 Tests in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia at an average of 51.30, including 17 centuries and 23 fifties.
Because of England, where he really struggled, “We can always look at stats and say Virat’s stats were not as good abroad, especially. Because of that, there are quite a few players now like Rahul and Padikkal, who have started to up that trend and follow in the footsteps of a Virat and a Sachin,” de Villiers had stated earlier.
De Villiers had previously said Kohli was better than Tendulkar in seam-friendly overseas conditions, while crediting the former India opener with being the first Indian batter to show that players from the subcontinent could succeed consistently in challenging conditions outside Asia. I said that Virat sort of showed that there is a different dynamic to Indian batting by being good on the short ball. He found a way to counter that,” de Villiers said on his YouTube channel. The South African great had said that, in his opinion, Kohli was better than Tendulkar when it came to seam-friendly overseas conditions.
The former South Africa captain’s comments attracted criticism, prompting him to explain what he meant. “There was a bit of confusion with my Virat and Sachin comment. Remember, it’s my opinion. I’m not axing anyone. I’m telling you the way that I see it. Sachin was the first to take things forward for India, showing all the youngsters what it takes to perform consistently everywhere around the world. De Villiers acknowledged that Kohli’s overseas numbers do not match Tendulkar’s, but insisted that statistics alone do not determine how he assesses a batter. But I still feel he looked confident and played the all-round, well-balanced cricket that’s needed to succeed abroad and inspired a lot of youngsters around him. He took what he learnt from Sachin and took it forward. His record is not as good as Sachin’s away from home, but we don’t always look at stats, especially not me. And that’s what I meant with showing the new generation of cricketers how the way forward should look. Staying fit, leading by example, having the all-round game,” de Villiers concluded. “I think of someone like Sachin Tendulkar way back, who started that trend for India. Yet, he wasn’t as strong as someone like Virat Kohli, who was even better. But Sachin was the first guy to show that, as a subcontinent batter, you can do well in bouncy and seaming conditions. Virat took that forward and raised the bar. He is also the highest run-scorer in overseas Test cricket. The difference remains significant when the comparison is restricted to SENA nations. He went on to suggest that Tendulkar was a pioneer for subcontinent batters, but Kohli surpassed him. The comments by de Villiers didn’t go down well, with the former international facing criticism and a huge backlash on social media.
Earlier reporting noted: South Africa’s legendary cricketer and former captain, AB de Villiers, has issued a clarification after facing criticism for rating Virat Kohli over Sachin Tendulkar. Earlier reporting noted: “I think of someone like Sachin Tendulkar way back, who started that trend for India.