India vs West Indies: Sourav Ganguly feels Virat Kohli is on par with Sachin Tendulkar...

India vs West Indies: Sourav Ganguly feels Virat Kohli is on par with Sachin Tendulkar in ODI cricket

Having partnered Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the innings in ODIs, Sourav Ganguly feels that Kohli is surely as good as the legend when it comes to the shorter format of the game.

cricket Updated: Oct 25, 2018 13:13 IST
Virat Kohli takes a break during his innings in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.(AFP)

India skipper Virat Kohli has hit an all-time high when it comes to being one of the most consistent batsmen in world cricket at the moment and former skipper Sourav Ganguly believes that words aren’t enough to descrive his performance day-in and day-out on the international stage.

“I am at a loss of words to describe Virat Kohli’s performance. The wicket was different today, conditions were different, but he changed the entire game. It was a fantastic knock. I don’t have enough words,” Ganguly told IndiaTV.

Having partnered Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the innings in ODIs, Ganguly feels that Kohli is surely as good as the legend when it comes to the shorter format of the game.

“I have closely seen Sachin Tendulkar play and he has scored 49 ODI hundreds and 100 tons overall but this man is no less than anybody. Kohli has now scored 37 ODI hundreds and he is not too far behind Tendulkar’s record. It is important to see that Kohli can play in all conditions and to change the game in all conditions. He carries the entire team on his shoulders.

“We saw that in England too where he scored hundreds when all the other batsmen were failing to score runs. India were at a difficult position in Guwahati, but Kohli led the team out of troubled waters. He is an all-time great in Indian cricket and in world cricket. He is not even 30 and has a lot of time left in his career. Since that 2014 England tour, Kohli has completely changed himself as a batsman and has scored 39 international hundreds. This is just unbelievable. Kohli is an example for every cricketer,” he said.

While people have often said that it is too early to compare Kohli to Tendulkar, Ganguly feels that the two are on the same plane when it comes to ODI cricket. “He [Kohli] is a master. There’s no doubt now that Kohli is on par with Sachin Tendulkar in ODI cricket. I will not compare Kohli with Tendulkar... both are very big players. However, Kohli has certainly taken this generation of cricket to a different level. His consistency and intensity is remarkable. There’s no stopping him. Whenever he comes on to the field, it feels as if it’s his first time,” he said.

First Published: Oct 25, 2018 13:13 IST