Virat Kohli - next Tendulkar in the making ?

Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli

“Yeh bada hoke Sachin banega”, is said for the kids who start holding the bat at a pretty tender age. And, the Virat Kohli that we have witnessed in the past few innings has come closest in making this statement true. But, ask yourself, does he really belong to this race of all time batting greats ? Is this not too early to make any such remarks ? Yes, he has become a key identity in the batting order, but still he has to achieve a lot to stand in the same category.

One Day Internationals

Sunil Gavaskar feels that Kohli will break Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries, yes, he might go on and break Tendulkar’s record of most ODI centuries, but, the ODIs we see now are completely distinguished from the ones in Sachin’s era. Its a different ball game altogether.

Following points will defend my statement-

• Earlier there was only one ball for an inning, now there are two, and the hard balls are easier to hit.
• Grounds used to be big and now, size of the grounds has been reduced considerably.
• Bats were much lighter than they are now.
• And the most important factor is the introduction of T20 cricket, which allows the batsmen to score freely and have hence changed their mindsets.
• Quality of bowling has reduced, Tendulkar scored against some of the most dangerous bowling attacks ever assembled.
• Virat has the support of other batsmen like Dhawan, Rohit and Dhoni, whilst, Tendulkar in almost every game was a lone scorer.

Test match cricket

Virat Kohli has no doubt, earned himself the stature which he currently holds, but he still has to improve in the cricket’s most laborious form. In his first 18 tests for India, he has scored at an average of 41.96 which is not even close to his One day average of 52.32. With the talent that Kohli posses, he has not done any justice to himself in test match cricket. The numbers for Kohli in tests are still very good, but with Kohli’s one day record, it looks below average. Virat Kohli has played only 7 tests away from his soil and the rest have been on the turf for which he is no stranger.

In his initial Tests, he struggled to score runs and his first test century came in his 14th innings, which is way too late for someone like Kohli.

On the other hand, Tendulkar has been performing for India for the past 24 years in the longest form of cricket. And, he has scored against all opponents in all conditions. Tendulkar also picked up the momentum late, but who would forget that he played his first test at the age of 16, when Tendulkar was still a boy.

Form of a sportsperson is very important, this form of his will not last forever, because every sportsperson goes through a period of bad form, and, Kohli is no different. He will have to do well consistently in both ODIs and tests if he wants to have any chance of being the next Tendulkar.

If Kohli wants to become an all time great and wants to stand in the same league of batting greats, he will have to improve on his Test numbers by a long margin.