Mohammad Kaif recently commented on former South Africa captain AB de Villiers’ bold comparison of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. De Villiers claimed that Kohli was ahead of Tendulkar in overseas Tests.
Reacting to the controversial take, Kaif asserted that Tendulkar was clearly ahead of Kohli in red-ball cricket. He also pointed out that the ‘Master Blaster’ has a wonderful record against the top wicket-takers in Test cricket.
Kaif, Tendulkar’s former India teammate, remarked in his recent YouTube video:
“No, no, paaji is way ahead in Test matches. If he is comparing the two or putting Virat Kohli above him, I’d say that he is wrong. You cannot keep Virat ahead because of the kind of bowling Sachin Tendulkar faced. Nobody bowls at 150 kph nowadays.
“Just take the wicket-takers in Tests and see how many runs Sachin has scored against them. Virat himself would say that they have learnt a lot from paaji.”
De Villiers’ comparison came in his latest YouTube video. He acknowledged that Tendulkar was the first Indian batter to dominate in away matches. However, the ex-cricketer claimed that Kohli raised the bar higher with his performances.
“There can be a debate in ODIs” – Mohammad Kaif on Sachin Tendulkar-Virat Kohli comparison
Mohammad Kaif admitted that Sachin Tendulkar was undoubtedly the better Test batter. However, he claimed that the story was different in white-ball cricket. He emphasized that Kohli was ahead of Tendulkar in white-ball run chases.
The cricketer-turned-commentator added in the same video:
“There can be a debate in ODIs, where Virat is the chase master. Virat Kohli is way ahead of Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to chasing in white-ball cricket.”
Notably, Kohli has already retired from T20Is and Tests but remains active in ODI cricket. He was last seen in action during India’s three-match ODI series against England last month, where he registered scores of 5, 65, and 74.
Edited by Aditya Suketu Desai