Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar: Who Is The Best Batsman in the World?

In today’s article, we will talk about two of the greatest batsmen in the world who have dominated international cricket with their incredible batting skills and become the pride of the Indian cricket team. Yes! We are talking about Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar, who have had the most runs in international cricket and are known as one of the best batters in the world. Often, there is a question asked by cricket fans who is the best batsman among these cricketers, as one is a legend who has represented the Indian cricket team for 24 long years, whereas the other is the next-generation batsman who has dominated the game by scoring the most runs in all the three formats and to pick the best from these two batsmen is really difficult, but with some stats and points, we can explain the difference between the two cricketers.

If we talk about Sachin Tendulkar's Stats in one format, which Tendulkar played the most in his 24 years of career was the 50 overs format, where he has played a total of 464 ODIs for Men in Blue, scoring 18426 runs with an average of 46, having 1 double hundred and 49 hundred to his name. 

Career Span

Sachin Tendulkar played for 24 long years for the Indian cricket team from 1989 to 2013 where he scored the most runs in international cricket in all three formats of the game with 34357 runs in 664 matches with an average of 48 having 100 hundred and 164 half-centuries to his name. 

Sachin Tendulkar scored these runs at that time when there were bowlers like Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Glenn Macgrah who were considered as the greatest bowlers in the cricket world. During that time there was not that much facility for any cricketer and they needed to take care of their fitness by themselves but if we look at it now there are physios and dieticians who take care of the individual player's diet. So, Tendulkar scored these runs at that time when bowlers used to dominate the format and there was not that much technology.

Meanwhile, the current high scorer for the Indian team, Virat Kohli, has been part of the Indian team since 2008, where he has scored 26733 runs in 522 games of all three formats with an average of 54 having 80 hundreds and 139 half-centuries to his name. So, the run machine Virat Kohli has been playing cricket in all three formats which has made him score more runs in international cricket. whereas Sachin majorly used to play in Tests and ODIs format in his 24 long years. However, he has played 1 T20I match, where he has just 10 runs after which he decides not to play and give a chance to a youngster as it requires more eligibility and fitness.

Formats

It would not be wrong to say that Tendulkar used to play the 20-over formats but was not at his peak when he majorly used to play in the Test format and 50-over formats. But if we look now, cricket has revolutionised where more emphasis is given to the shorter format as it gets over in 4-5 hours. So the Indian run-machine has got an extra format where he can score runs for Men in Blue compared to Sachin, who played just 1 T20I match in his career. Talking about Kohli has scored 4037 runs in 117 games with an average of 51, having 1 hundred and 37 half-centuries to his name.

Age Factors and Injuries

Sachin Tendulkar has represented the Indian team for 24 long years from 1989 to 2013, where he has gone through several injuries, like a tennis elbow injury when he was out of the cricket field from 2004 to 05. Later, he had to undergo surgery for the above problem. In the year 2006, Sachin Tendulkar went through shoulder surgery and the next year saw him out of action with a broken knee. So injuries were one of the setbacks for the great Indian cricketer, which made him retire at the age of 39 years. 

If we go through Virat Kohli, he is currently at the age of 35 years and no doubt his fitness looks like a 20-year player. Kohli has been seen working hard on his fitness with intense training sessions at the gym according to his workload and looks at the age he is dominating in international cricket by playing in all three formats, which has made him fit to represent the Indian team in all three formats.

Both are the pride of India and comparing and picking the best from these 2 batters would be difficult as both have played and represented the Indian cricket team under different circumstances and times, which has inspired the upcoming cricketers to have the speed, agility and consistency like Virat Kohli, whereas a dream-like Sachin Tendulkar.

Currently, Virat Kohli has been dominating in the 17th edition of Tata Indian Premier League by scoring most runs in IPL 2024, which helped the Bangalore-based franchise to reach in the playoffs. Kohli will be seen playing in the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup which is scheduled to take place from June 2nd in West Indies and USA.