Sachin Tendulkar vs Virat Kohli: Controversy in Indian cricket comparing Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli is not new. But this time the former South African captain AB de Villiers added a new dimension to that discussion. Talking about the success of Indian batsmen on tough overseas wickets, he highlighted the path shown by Sachin and Virat taking that standard even higher.
‘Sachin showed the way to succeed abroad’
On his YouTube channel, de’Villiers said Sachin Tendulkar first showed the way that a batsman from the Indian subcontinent could succeed in a bouncy and swing-assisted environment. According to him, Virat Kohli has taken it further and taken it to new heights, which Sachin had started on the foreign soil.
Virat Kohli has changed the mindset of Indian cricket?
According to De Villiers, Virat’s role is crucial in making India a strong Test team on foreign soil. His leadership and batting influenced the next generation of cricketers. The Proteas legend singled out Kohli’s contribution in creating a winning mentality in tough overseas environments.
Rahul-Padikkal’s inspiration is Sachin-Virat
According to de Villiers, the current generation of Indian batsmen like KL Rahul and Devdutta Padikkal are trying to establish themselves on foreign soil by following in the footsteps of Sachin and Virat. He also thinks that Rahul’s technique is particularly successful in difficult situations abroad. However, de Villiers also commented that there is still room for improvement in his game.
Sachin’s record abroad is still unbelievable
Looking at the statistics, Sachin Tendulkar is ahead in foreign soil. The legend, who retired in 2013, scored 15,921 runs in 200 Tests, which is still the highest run-scoring record in Test cricket. About 55 percent of his total Test runs, i.e. 8,705 runs, came outside India. He also holds the record for scoring the highest number of runs in test cricket abroad.How is Kohli’s foreign record?
Virat Kohli has scored 9,230 runs in 123 Test matches. Out of this, he scored 4,774 runs in 66 Tests outside India. Kohli retired from Test cricket in 2025. De Villiers feels that while Sachin’s overseas run total is more than Kohli’s in terms of numbers, Virat’s impact cannot be judged by batting statistics alone.