Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli-the two most discussed names in the world of cricket at the moment. Both are hogging the limelight since the last few days; but for completely different reasons. While Sachin’s name is making the headlines as he is preparing himself to take the field for the final time in his career, Kohli is seeking the attention of the cricket lovers for playing some extraordinary cricket on the last few 
occasions. Such is the extent of Virat’s performance that pundits have begun to compare him with the little master. The most debatable topic at the moment among the cricket lovers is that can Virat Kohli be the next Sachin Tendulkar. Can he achieve what this man has achieved in his 24-year long career?
Sachin Tendulkar has always been a role-model for the young cricketers in India. They grow up with the dream of becoming ‘Sachin’. Virat Kohli has somewhat come close to his dreams of becoming the next Sachin of the Indian cricket, at least the critics have begun to put him in that stature. And why not. He had a glorious beginning to his career when he led India in the ICC Under-19 World Cup to victory in 2007. After that he never had to look back. He made his debut in Indian colours at the age of 21. Since then he has become one of the most dependable batsmen in the Indian side, very much like Sachin Tendulkar who had always been the backbone of the Indian batting since making his debut in 1989 against Pakistan in Karachi. Kohli has got quite a number of great innings under his belt in this very short span of his career. Who can forget his blistering innings in Hobart when he smashed the Sri Lankan bowling attack spearheaded by Lasith Malinga as India chased down 320 within 40 overs. His brilliant century in Adelaide during the last test match in India’s tour of Australia brought his class into prominence. In the ongoing series against Australia Virat Kohli is the guy who is making the difference between the two teams. His innings of 100* (52) in Jaipur while chasing 360 and 115* (66) in Nagpur chasing 351 have his elevated him from the category of good players to the standard of the gifted players. The Australians have 
simply got no answer to his antics with the bat.
Looking at Virat Kohli from the statistical point of view one can state that he has got an excellent start to his career. He has got 4919 runs in just 118 matches with 17 centuries and has an average of 52.33 and a strike-rate of 88.53. In India’s successful run chases Virat Kohli records an astounding batting average of 86.53. 11 out of 17 centuries made by Kohli is while chasing and on each occasions India has been on the winning side. At the moment he is just three short of Sachin’s 14 tons in similar scenarios. He has crossed the 1000-run mark in a calendar year for the third time in a row which is itself a great achievement. By the age of 25 Sachin Tendulkar had got only 15 tons under his belt. But Kohli, who will be 25 within a week’s time, has already got 17 centuries by his name.
With these statistics it is quite clear that India’s dependency on Virat Kohli will increase in the days to come. Perhaps he will become one of the greats in the history of world cricket. But the obvious question that comes is that will he be able to match Sachin Tendulkar in the days to come. If Kohli is able to maintain such great form there are big possibilities of Kohli getting past Sachin.
However there are a lot of odds that will be going against him. With the number of matches that the players have to play throughout the year now-a-days, will Kohli be able to carry on for a long time enough so that he can get the opportunity to match his senior pro. Even if there are big possibilities that Kohli may somewhat overshadow Sachin’s achievements in ODIs, it will be a real tough ask for him to surpass or even match the legend in test matches. The fact that the number of test matches getting decreased in modern cricket is not helping his cause either.
As of now it cant be said that Virat Kohli is the next Sachin Tendulkar. There is no doubt that he has got the potentials of matching this titan of the game. Virat’s career is just three year old. He has got more hurdles to come in his career. If he manages to overcome those obstacles surely the day the not far away when he will be worshiped as one of the cricketing greats.
Tags: indian cricket next Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Tendulkar Virat Kohli
