India The team's recent success in Test cricket has again drawn attention to the batsmen who helped establish the team as a force to be reckoned with outside home conditions. Sri Lanka After a 165-run win in Galle against the former South Africa batsman AB de Villiers by Sachin Tendulkar And Virat Kohli Considered the contribution of. While both enjoyed remarkable Test careers, de Villiers believes that one of them took India's overseas batting standards a step further.
AB de Villiers chooses between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli
Speaking on his YouTube channel, de Villiers earlier highlighted the importance of Tendulkar, who showed that Indian batsmen can succeed in conditions that are traditionally considered tough for players from the subcontinent. However, when Tendulkar was compared to Kohli, the former South African batsman felt that the latter went a step further.
“I think of someone like Sachin Tendulkar, who started that trend for India. Still, he was not as strong as someone like Virat Kohli, who was even better,” De Villiers said.
He said that Tendulkar was the first Indian batsman to demonstrate that players from the subcontinent could succeed on pitches with bounce and seam. According to de Villiers, Kohli then carried that trend forward and raised the bar. Tendulkar finished his great Test career with 15,921 runs in 200 matches before retiring in 2013. Whereas, Kohli retired from Test cricket in May 2025 after scoring 9,230 runs in 123 matches.
Sachin Tendulkar has better overseas test figures
Despite de Villiers' assessment, Tendulkar's statistics are better than Kohli outside India. The former Indian batsman scored 8,705 of his 15,921 Test runs outside India, more than half of his career total. He remains the highest run-scorer in overseas Test cricket. Kohli scored 4,774 runs in 66 Tests outside India.
When their records are only SENA countries: South Africa, England, New Zealand And Australia If limited to 100 runs, the comparison is also in favor of Tendulkar. Tendulkar scored 5,387 runs in 63 Tests, with an average of 51.30, including 17 centuries and 23 half-centuries. Kohli, on the other hand, scored 3,661 runs in 46 Tests in SENA conditions, with an average of 42.08, 12 centuries and 14 half-centuries.
Therefore, de Villiers' comments appear to be more focused on Kohli's wider impact on Indian Test cricket and not just a comparison of their statistics. During Kohli's tenure, India became a formidable team on foreign soil and strong performances in challenging conditions were consistently expected.
AB de Villiers highlights KL Rahul's overseas record
De Villiers KL Rahul Also discussed and agreed that the Indian batsman needs improvement while playing away from home. The former South African batsman believes that Rahul should convert his starts into big scores. According to him, once Rahul is set, scoring a century should not be the ultimate goal but innings of around 180 can have more impact. De Villiers with Rahul Devdutt Padikkal Also mentioned, who is part of the new generation following the path set by Tendulkar and Kohli.
“KL is someone who has strong technique and he is a big asset in that Indian team. But his average away from home is only 34. Because of this, there are many players now like KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal, who have started to carry that trend forward and are following in the footsteps of Virat and Sachin,” He said.