"Virat Kohli is better than Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs" - Usman Khawaja
Australia opener Usman Khawaja recently shared his take on the comparisons between legendary Indian batters Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
Khawaja believes that Kohli is the better batter when it comes to 50-over cricket. The southpaw pointed out how Kohli is on the verge of eclipsing Tendulkar to become the batter with the most centuries in ODIs.
The 36-year-old also stated that it won't be easy for any player to achieve what Kohli has so far in his glorious career. In a video shared by Fox Cricket on YouTube, Khawaja said (0:17):
"I am going to say Virat Kohli is better than Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs. If you look at the stats, he has almost taken over how many hundreds he (Tendulkar) has got, and he has played so many more less games. Sachin was the benchmark for when I grew up, but what Kohli is doing right now—no one has ever done that in the game."
It is worth mentioning that Kohli has 47 ODI tons to his name from 284 matches, just two behind Tendulkar's record of 49 centuries (in 463 matches) in the format.
During the same discussion, former Australia keeper-batter Brad Haddin also reserved high praise for Virat Kohli. He mentioned that the former India captain has contributed significantly to the success of the team over the years. He explained (0:46):
"He improves players around him. Everyone likes to play with him; he drives standards high. When he came into the team, he wanted to leave a legacy, and he has done that with the way this Indian team is presented, the number one in all three forms of the game going into this World Cup. The other thing I like about him is how he controls the tempo of the game when he bats. He has got different gears. He can go in and take the game away from you, and can also get into a shell when he has to. He just controls the whole tempo of the game."
Virat Kohli has had an impressive run so far in the ongoing 2023 World Cup. He bailed India out of trouble in their opening match against Australia, delivering a clutch knock of 85 runs. He followed it up with an unbeaten 55-run innings in the subsequent clash against Afghanistan.
The prolific batter looked in great touch in the recently concluded match against Pakistan as well. However, he failed to score big and was dismissed for 16.
"The greatest of the run chasers that we have seen in One-Day cricket" - Usman Khawaja on Virat Kohli
In the same video, Usman Khawaja stated that Virat Kohli is undoubtedly the best-ever batter in run chases. He lauded Kohli for coming up with impactful performances with great consistency.
The Australian opener suggested that Kohli's consistency can be credited to his risk-free approach. Khawaja noted that the seasoned campaigner prefers to accumulate runs by taking doubles and fours instead of relying on six-hitting, adding (1:12):
"He is the greatest of the run chasers that we have seen in One-Day cricket. The thing I love about Virat is his consistency. The reason I believe he is so consistent over such a long period of time is that he is the greatest two and four-hitter I have seen. He doesn't hit a lot of sixes in ODIs."
Kohli will next be seen in action on Thursday, October 19, when India take on Bangladesh in match number 17 of the 2023 World Cup at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.