The Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar debate is right up the alley of Indian cricket’s fondest fans. The greatest batter of his generation against the best of today’s era, who is better between Tendulkar and Kohli is an answer only time will tell. Records and numbers aside, both played in contrasting eras of Indian cricket, which makes the comparison all the more difficult. However, if there is one player from the current Indian team who can get close to, let alone break Tendulkar's numerous batting records, it is Kohli. (Also Read: 'When Virat was 17 or 18, I was sent by the BCCI to coach him': India legend narrates never-before-heard Kohli story)
Kohli is six ODI centuries away from matching Tendulkar's tally of 49 tons, and at 33, he would fancy himself to get to the 50th and better the Master Blaster. Former India coach Anshuman Gaekwad has shown tremendous faith in Kohli and based on his fitness, has backed the 33-year-old to equal one big Tendulkar record which seems unlikely to ever be broken – the impressive feat of playing 200 Tests for your country.
"It is a great achievement to play 100 Test matches and still keep going the way he has. The big difference is the experience he has gained by playing in 100 Test matches. As long as he is fit, nobody can touch him. He is so conscious of his fitness that I won't be surprised if he goes to 200 because of the kind of series of matches they are playing, the frequency is so high that it is a question of another seven or eight years, and he will land up close to 200. Am sure he will be fit and play for the next 10 years, the way he is going," Gaekwad told News18.
Gaekwad was the coach of the Indian cricket team when Tendulkar was at the peak of his batting prowess. The year we are referring to is 1998, when Tendulkar scored 2541 from 42 innings, a combined Test and ODI average of 68.67 and strike-rate of 93.69 with 12 hundreds and eight fifties. While Kohli has had a fantastic year of his own – 2016 – where he scored 2595 runs in 41 innings, lately he hasn't been able to replicate his run-machine avatar. Having said that, Gaekwad was full of praise for the former India captain and compared him with the legendary Sunil Gavaskar as one of the players he 'loves to watch'.
{{/usCountry}}Gaekwad was the coach of the Indian cricket team when Tendulkar was at the peak of his batting prowess. The year we are referring to is 1998, when Tendulkar scored 2541 from 42 innings, a combined Test and ODI average of 68.67 and strike-rate of 93.69 with 12 hundreds and eight fifties. While Kohli has had a fantastic year of his own – 2016 – where he scored 2595 runs in 41 innings, lately he hasn't been able to replicate his run-machine avatar. Having said that, Gaekwad was full of praise for the former India captain and compared him with the legendary Sunil Gavaskar as one of the players he 'loves to watch'.
{{/usCountry}}"It is going to be a big advantage for Indian cricket. Kohli is not only performing and leading from the front but also the amount of experience he has gained as a player, as a captain, is a big thing. He has shown the world that there is no going back. He doesn't want to accept defeat. His thoughts have been very positive, he never gives up until the end," added Gaekwad.
"His attitude, his personality, his actions on the field show that he is not a guy who is going to give up, and he is one to fight it out till the end. That is what he has shown the world. The boys have been in and out, new boys have come in, and he has performed and has shown the world that everything is possible, not only in India but also outside."