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Cricket is often referred to as the gentleman’s game and has seen its fair share of legends, with the names of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli etched into the annals of cricketing history alongside many others.
Sachin was the epitome of cricketing excellence, and his legacy continues to inspire generations of aspiring cricketers. Meanwhile, Virat is the modern-day maestro and has been on a relentless pursuit to carve his own path to greatness as he’s been achieving milestone after milestone. Nevertheless, this has also sparked comparisons between him and Sachin time and time again.
The ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 in India reignited the age-old debate of comparing the two titans of the game when Virat recently surpassed Sachin in terms of most runs for India in ICC white-ball tournaments. This incredible feat left many wondering whether Virat can indeed be placed on the same pedestal as Sachin. The same question was asked to former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis during an interview with OneCricket, and he didn’t shy away from sharing his perspective on the matter.
Waqar Younis shares his take on Virat Kohli’s comparison with Sachin Tendulkar
In his assessment, Waqar candidly pointed out that cricket has undergone significant transformations over the years. He even highlighted how pitches have improved, offering batters more favourable conditions and that modern cricketers play shots that were previously considered unimaginable. The 51-year-old further also talked about the advent of T20 cricket before concluding that there’s no comparison when we juxtapose players from different eras and
expect one to outshine the other.
“Cricket has changed. The pitches have gotten better. Nowadays cricketers play shots, jo kabhi dekha hi nahi. No right to compare with Sachin. Different generations, different eras. Formats has changed, T20 cricket is here, so comparing players from a different era is not fair,” said Waqar.
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Waqar Younis on Virat Kohli and Babar Azam comparison
In addition to discussing the comparison between Virat and Sachin, Waqar also touched upon another hot topic: the comparison between Virat and Pakistan’s own star, Babar Azam. While acknowledging Babar’s undeniable talent and contributions to Pakistan cricket, Waqar emphasized that Babar still has a long road ahead of him to match Virat’s body of work.
“Cannot be compared right now. Virat has been playing for many years. Babar has done extremely well for Pakistan but needs to achieve more moving forward,” the veteran cricketer added.
Virat Kohli just two centuries away from breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record
It’s also worth noting that Kohli is just two centuries away from equaling Sachin’s record of the most centuries in ODI cricket. Currently, the Delhi-born cricketer has 47 ODI centuries to his name, while Sachin amassed 49 tons during his illustrious career.
