Reacting to the public backlash, AB de Villiers said his remark that Virat Kohli is a better overseas Test batter than Sachin Tendulkar was blown out of proportion. The former South Africa captain implied that he was simply stating his opinion, which has nothing to do with who has the better Test record. In terms of impact, de Villiers still feels Kohli outdoes Tendulkar, and while the Master Blaster is way ahead statistically, that’s only half the picture.
“There was a bit of confusion with my Virat and Sachin comment. Remember, it’s my opinion. I’m not axing anyone. I’m telling you the way that I see it. Sachin was the first to take things forward for India, showing all the youngsters what it takes to perform consistently everywhere around the world. I said that Virat sort of showed that there is a different dynamic to Indian batting by being good on the short ball. He found a way to counter that,” de Villiers said in his most recent video on his YouTube channel.
De Villiers’ previous comment that ‘Sachin Tendulkar started the trend for India way back. Yet, he wasn’t as strong as someone like Virat Kohli, who was even better, divided public opinion. Fan wars erupted once again on social media, while former India pacer Dodda Ganesh asked de Villiers to ‘pass on the weed’. With almost 16,000 Test runs and 51 Test centuries, Tendulkar, record-wise, is miles ahead of Kohli, who retired last year with 9,230 runs.
Statistics don’t paint the whole picture, says ABD
Purely in terms of the willingness to succeed, without comparing him with Tendulkar, de Villiers reiterated his admiration for Kohli, especially for how he bounced back after that terrible tour of England in 2014.
“We can always look at stats and say Virat’s stats were not as good abroad, especially because of England, where he really struggled. But I still feel he looked confident and played the all-round, well-balanced cricket that’s needed to succeed abroad and inspired a lot of youngsters around him. He took what he learnt from Sachin and took it forward. His record is not as good as Sachin’s away from home, but we don’t always look at stats, especially not me. And that’s what I meant by showing the new generation of cricketers how the way forward should look. Staying fit, leading by example, having the all-round game,” de Villiers mentioned.