Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has reasoned why Sachin Tendulkar is ahead of Virat Kohli in terms of being a better player in ODIs. The player-turned-politician mentions how the changes in ODI cricket has made the game more batsmen friendly and cited it as a major reason for slotting Sachin over Kohli.
The New ICC rules have introduced multiple powerplays and shorter boundaries in ODIs. With thicker bats and a new ball from each end, The ODIs have started to favor batsman. It is clearly evident as teams are easily racking up 350 runs in an innings. After 2010, there also have been seven more double-centuries after Tendulkar’s first which came a decade ago.
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Speaking on Star Sports’ Cricket Connected, Gautam Gambhir said, “Sachin Tendulkar, because probably with one white ball and four fielders inside the circle, not five fielders outside. It will be Sachin Tendulkar for me. It’s difficult because Virat Kohli has done phenomenally well. But I think the rules have changed as well. They have helped a lot of new batters.”
“The new generation, with 2 new balls, no reverse swing, nothing for the finger spin, five fielders inside for the 50 overs, probably that makes batting much easier,” he added.
“Look at how Sachin Tendulkar has played. Different rules, that time 230 to 240, was a winning total. Probably I’ll go with Sachin Tendulkar if we see the longevity and flow of the one-day cricket format,” said Gambhir.
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Tendulkar has been vocal in suggesting how the game has started to move in the favors of the batters.
Recently Harbhajan Singh urged ICC to make sure the contest between the bat and the ball is evenly balanced. He wrote, “Need few bowlers in @ICC to keep the balance right between bat and ball. Games become more competitive when a team scores 260/270. Nowadays everyone scorning 320/30 plus and getting chased as well often.”
Tendulkar retweeted Harbhajan Singh’s Thoughts and commented, “Couldn’t agree with you more Bhajji! Even I feel the rules and surfaces both need to be looked into.”
