'Don't compare Virat Kohli with Sachin Tendulkar': West Indies legend ends debate with towering statement

Just before Virat Kohli's 500th match for India, the broadcasters showed a graphic comparing his numbers with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar at the same landmark. Kohli had more runs (25461), a better average (53.48), the same number of centuries (75) and half-centuries (131) compared to Tendulkar who had 24839 runs at an average of 48.51 with 75 centuries and 114 half-centuries when he was playing his 500th international match. But do plain stats narrate the entire picture? Yes, in most cases but certainly not always.

There are various other factors that need to be taken into consideration while judging numbers. But there is a bigger question. Does it even make sense to compare Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar? Two batters of different generations, different circumstances who happen to be the master of their time and represent India with great pride. No matter how much number digging or minute statistics one brings up, will it ever be a fair comparison?

West Indies legend Curtly Ambrose, who has had his fair share of duels with Tendulkar during his playing days, and has also watched Virat Kohli grow into a modern-day giant, feels one should never compare the two. "I wouldn’t want to compare both players," said Ambrose in an interview with Rev Sports.

Tendulkar and Kohli's paths in international cricket crossed roughly for five years. Tendulkar didn't play all the formats regularly and Kohli was mostly a white-ball player till the end of 2011. But just when Tendulkar was nearing the end, Kohli's rapid rise began and by the time Tendulkar played his last international match for India in November 2013, Kohli had ensured the void in the batting line-up was not as deep as it initially appeared.

Despite his low returns in Test cricket between 2019 and 2022, Kohli still has a better overall record than Tendulkar while playing the same number of matches. And mind you, Tendulkar did not have to play a rigorous season of IPL at the prime of his career like Kohli. But having said that, can Tendulkar's legacy be ignored? Can it ever be forgotten how he is the first global superstar of Indian cricket who could make his fans forget their daily routine just by batting in the middle?

Ambrose, who was privy to the Tendulkar magic, had this to say: "Sachin Tendulkar was a great player, and achieved just about everything in cricket. You can’t take away from his cricketing knowledge and the way he played. I’m not the kind of guy who would like to compare," he said.

‘Kohli will shut his critics’: Ambrose

Ambrose did not forget to laud Kohli. "When you’re a great player and going through a lean patch, like Virat Kohli in the last couple of years where he hadn’t scored a century outside India, people tend to look at him and say ‘Oh, he’s over the hill, he’s struggling cause he hasn’t scored a century,’ and all that stuff. It’s unfair. Every great player goes through a patch where they fail to score hundreds or fail to be consistent. He is still a quality player, I’m really happy he got a hundred. Unfortunately, it’s against the West Indies, but that should do his confidence a world of good, and shut up some people who think he is over the hill. He’s not, he still has a lot to contribute to Indian cricket and cricket in general," he said.

Kohli brought an end to a long wait of nearly four years for a Test century by hitting a patient hundred in the second Test against the West Indies in Trinidad. India won the series 1-0 after Day 5 of the final Test was washed out, forcing the match to end in a draw.