With almost every passing day, Virat Kohli’s stature as the best batsmen of this generation is elevating and so is the comparison between him and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. The India Test skipper is experiencing a phenomenal 2016, where he has scored 1200 runs in 16 Tests including three double hundreds in consecutive series’. His unbelievable batting prowess has made the fans go gaga over him and they are not missing a single chance to compare him with Tendulkar. However, legendary batsman Geoffrey Boycott feels it’s wrong to compare batsmen of different eras.
Speaking at a Rotary club of Bombay Midtown meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, the cricketer-turned-commentator explained:“We’re all human. What we see on TV, we think that it’s the best ever. Is Kohli better than (Sunil) Gavaskar? Hang on. The kid’s going to be a great player. But Gavaskar and (Sachin) Tendulkar were great players too. It’s easy to say ‘long live the king.’ ‘The king is dead.’ That’s what happens to us all. We’re all: ‘Was that Tendulkar, did he really play and get a 100 hundreds?’ ‘Was he really better than Kohli?’ We focus on what we see because we’re human.”
The former England opener insisted the Indian batting sensation’s stature among the greats of the game will be judged only towards the end of his career.
“He won’t break all records. And it won’t matter even if he does. It won’t make him a better player than those of the past. I broke Gary Sobers’s record of most number of runs in Delhi. That doesn’t make me a better batsman than him. What (Kohli) has to do is carry on scoring runs and winning a Test match for his country. And then towards the end of his career, he’ll be judged in the pantheon of all the greats. I’m proud for instance that England have never lost a Test when I’ve made a hundred. Simple. Don’t get me out twice cheaply, you won’t win, simple,” said.
Boycott, who represented England in 108 Tests, said Kohli still has a long way to go before becoming one of the greats of the game. The retired cricketer advised the Indian batting star to keep piling up the runs in all conditions.
“He has to carry on that form in India and abroad too. He’ll get a chance to put that right when he comes to England in two years’ time. He’s got hundreds in Australia and South Africa,” he stressed.
Boycott also had a word of praise for Kohli’s work ethics.He said:“It isn’t easy when the guy is practising, working his socks off. It’s one of the many things I like about Kohli. I hear from many ex-India players that he trained hard to get to where he is.”
Meanwhile, he also criticised the England team and called them poor travellers. Alastair Cook’s men have been thoroughly outplayed by India in the ongoing five-match Test series and are trailing the series 3-0 with one more match to go.
“You got to remember that we all grow up in our country and are good in our conditions. What makes great players and team is being ability to play everywhere. You got England players who can’t tour, can’t play spin, couldn’t play Mitchell Johnson’s pace in Australia. It’s a different test of your technique,” he concluded.