|| Desk Report ||

 

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes that Virat Kohli shouldn’t be compared to the great Sachin Tendulkar just yet. The current India captain is the best player in the world right now and the way he goes about his game makes people put him on the same pedestal as the Master Blaster.

Kohli has so far scored over 18000 international runs from 344 matches and has smashed 58 centuries in the process. Meanwhile, the former India batsman, Tendulkar, has more than 34000 internationals runs to his name along with 100 centuries from 664 matches.

As a result, Kohli will have to cover a lot more distance before he can touch those numbers. This is why the former Australia captain feels that comparing the pair right now is an exercise in futility since Kohli still has a long way to go.

“Comparisons are hard to make at this stage of his (Kohli’s) career. You are being compared with someone who has played 200 Test matches. What you remember about Sachin is when he was finishing off. You don’t remember when he was in mid 20s.

“Everyone is saying exceptional things about Virat now but let’s see if he can dominate international cricket for about 10, 12 or 15 years which would be a sign of a real champion player. Sachin did that in all three formats.”

Sachin’s longevity as a cricketer is something that everyone admires. Ponting, too, is of the opinion that playing 200 Tests is nothing short of incredible.