Australia opener Usman Khawaja has made an explosive statement opining that Virat Kohli is a better batter than Sachin Tendulkar in ODI cricket. Virat Kohli has over 13,000 runs in ODI cricket, while Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for most runs with over 18,000.
Tendulkar has hit 49 centuries in the 50-over format, while Kohli is closing in with 47 tons to his name. Both were part of the Indian team which won the 2011 World Cup.
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. He also stated that it won't be easy for any player to achieve what Kohli has so far in his glorious career.
“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 fewer 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," Khawaja said on the Fox Cricket YouTube channel.
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. He credited the success to Kohli’s risk-free approach.
Khawaja noted that the seasoned campaigner prefers to accumulate runs by taking doubles and fours instead of relying on six-hitting.
"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 is that he is the greatest two and four-hitter I have seen. He doesn't hit a lot of sixes in ODIs,” he added.
During the same discussion, former Australia keeper-batter Brad Haddin also reserved high praise for Virat Kohli, mentioning how the former India captain has contributed significantly to the success of the team over the years.
Haddin said: “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."
Here is the video:
