"Two different ballgames altogether" - Dinesh Karthik pinpoints why it will be tough for Virat Kohli to break Sachin Tendulkar's records

Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik recently shared his thoughts on the comparison of the batting records of Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar.

Kohli is among the handful of batters who stand a chance of getting close to Tendulkar's records in international cricket. Karthik pointed out that Kohli has a slight disadvantage as he didn't start his international career at a very young age, like Tendulkar, who played his first match at the age of 16.

He, however, emphasised that Kohli will definitely go down as one of the greatest ever batters to have played the game. Speaking to Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik said:

"Sachin (Tendulkar) started at the age of 16, that makes the difference. Whereas Virat Kohli started much later. Those four or five years could be the difference. It is different from 16 to 21 than trying to catch up from 34 to 40. It is two different ballgames altogether."

"What Virat Kohli has achieved is phenomenal," he added. "Whether he goes on to touch Sachin's record, just falls short, or gets ahead of him, you have to say he is going to come out as one of the greatest cricketers India have ever produced and one of the greatest batters the world cricket has ever seen."

Virat Kohli delivered a sensational performance during India's Super Four clash against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 on Monday. He remained unbeaten on 122 off 94 balls, helping the Men in Blue post a mammoth 356-run total.

During the knock, the 34-year-old surpassed Tendulkar (321 innings) to become the fastest-ever to score 13,000 ODI runs, achieving the feat in just 267 innings.

Kohli also notched up his 47th ODI century and is just two tons away from equalling Tendulkar's record in the format.

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"There is nobody who can come close to what he has achieved in ODI cricket" - Dinesh Karthik on Virat Kohli

Dinesh Karthik further spoke about how Virat Kohli has achieved tremendous success in ODI cricket, hailing him as the king of the 50-over format.

He reckoned that it would be very difficult for other batters to match Kohli's numbers in ODI cricket. Heaping praise on the former India captain, Karthik remarked:

"His (Virat Kohli's) strongest suit has to be how well he has dominated 50-over cricket over a period of time. There is nobody who can even come close to him in terms of chasing, and there is nobody who can come close to what he has achieved in ODI cricket in terms of sheer numbers."

"He is going to go down as the benchmark for anybody who takes up 50-over cricket, and mind you, 50-over cricket is at a very sensitive place right now. You don't know what the life of 50-over cricket is going to be, but till the time it lasts, king Kohli will be the king of that format." he added.

The Indian side completed a comprehensive 228-run victory over arch-rivals Pakistan. They will next be seen in action against Sri Lanka at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday, September 12.