The longest-standing debate in cricket history, arguably, has been a comparison between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. The former has been hailed as the ‘God of Cricket’ by fans while the other is considered a ‘modern-era great’ with the two dominating the run-scoring charts across the formats. However, Kohli, on Monday, made an ‘embarrassing’ revelation on being compared with Sachin all his career.
Speaking to veteran Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa in an interview on Jio Cinema, Virat Kohli acknowledged that, unlike Sachin, he was never a cricketer who could make things happen at a young age. He opined that he was “good and determined”, but did not claim to be a “gifted” cricketer, contrary to the perception of his fans.
As per the quotes in Hindustan Times, Virat Kohli said, “I say this to people all the time that I had talent but the most complete or wasn’t someone who you make you go like ‘oh my god, that’s unbelievable’. I was good and was able to do little bit with my talent, but I know I wasn’t the most gifted guy around in terms of taking things by storm or making things happen.”
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He further added, “I was determined from a very young age, but I have no issues in admitting that I never ever in my wildest dream did I think sitting here at 34 in this situation.”
Kohli hence added that he feels “embarrassed” with all the comparisons and has rather “laughed it off” each time, explaining that while stats tell a different story to fans, “people have no idea about the game”.
Explaining it further, Virat Kohli said, “I feel embarrassed when I am compared to Sachin though I get where these people are coming from with all those statistics and stuff. But these stats tell you a different story. The impact a player leaves on you as a child growing up is very different. just laugh it off every time. These people have no idea about the game.”
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He further added, “Sachin Tendulkar always has been emotion for me, if you speak to anyone, they look at him as their own because everyone has faith and trust in him, he was the source of inspiration and comfort, when he scored runs, life was good,” Kohli added. “Nobody should be compared with Sachin and Viv Richards because they revolutionised the game in their era and the belief people had in them was rare, it rare to have that belief in one player.”
