South Africa batting great AB de Villiers claimed that his former Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate Virat Kohli did more than establish himself as one of India’s greatest Test batters overseas. De Villiers reckoned Sachin Tendulkar was the pioneer who showed Indian batters they could succeed in seaming and bouncy conditions away from home, but Kohli took that belief to another level.
De Villiers made the comments in the wake of India’s 165-run win over Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday. “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,” said de Villiers on his YouTube channel.
Tendulkar, who retired in 2013, remains the leading run-scorer in Test cricket history with 15,921 runs in 200 matches, while Kohli, who retired from the format in May 2025, finished his career 19th on the all-time list with 9,230 runs in 123 Tests.
Around 55% of Tendulkar’s Test runs, 8705, came away from home. He is also the leading run-scorer among batters in Test cricket in overseas conditions. Kohli, meanwhile, scored 4,774 runs in 66 Tests outside India.
{{/usCountry}}Around 55% of Tendulkar’s Test runs, 8705, came away from home. He is also the leading run-scorer among batters in Test cricket in overseas conditions. Kohli, meanwhile, scored 4,774 runs in 66 Tests outside India.
{{/usCountry}}The gap remains even when the numbers are narrowed down to SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia). Tendulkar scored 5,387 runs in 63 Tests in those countries at an average of 51.30, with 17 centuries and 23 fifties. Kohli finished with 3,661 runs in 46 Tests at an average of 42.08, with 12 centuries and 14 fifties.
While the numbers point to a different story, de Villiers’ assessment appears to be based more on Kohli’s broader impact on India’s rise as a dominant Test side away from home. His influence, particularly during India’s successful run in overseas Test cricket, helped establish a higher standard for the generation that followed.
De Villiers said Kohli and Tendulkar have now influenced the current crop of Indian batters, including KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal, to improve their performances away from home.
“Because of that, there are quite a few players now like [KL] Rahul and [Devdutt] Padikkal, who have started to up that trend and follow in the footsteps of a Virat and a Sachin,” he added.
De Villiers, however, believes Rahul still has room to improve his returns overseas despite possessing the technique to succeed in those conditions.
“KL is a guy with a sound technique and is a big asset in that Indian lineup. But he averages only 34 away from home. So you’ll expect more and that is one area where he has to work on. He has to get bigger scores once he gets in and not just get a 100 but make it a 180 because that first-ball duck and getting out to the newish ball is always around the corner. So for him, the name of the game will be to make the big scores even bigger,” said de Villiers.