Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar- An In-Depth Comparison
Sachin Tendulkar as we all know is the god of cricket. Fans are always looking for an in-depth comparison between Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar. So, we have decided to compare these two legends for you. Hope you enjoy this comparison and do drop your valuable suggestions in the comments section.
Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar: An Overview
| Virat Kohli | Sachin Tendulkar | |
| Date of Birth | 5th November 1988 | 24th April 1973 |
| Full Name | Virat Prem Kohli | Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar |
| Age | 32 | 47 |
| Wife | Anushka Sharma | Anjali Tendulkar |
| Religion | Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism) | Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism) |
| Year Married | 2017 | 1995 |
| Children | Currently Pregnant with their first child | Sara and Arjun |
| Nickname | Chikoo | Master Blaster |
| Jersey Number | 18 | 10 |
| Siblings | Vikas (Brother) and Bhavna (Sister) | Nitin (Brother), Ajit (Brother) and Savita (Sister) |
| Early Coach | Rajkumar Sharma | Ramakant Achrekar |
| Books Written About Them | · A Run Machine Virat Kohli (D Patel)
· Winner Virat Kohli, Kohlinoor of India (C. Srinivasa) · Reliable Rebel, Virat Kohli (CR Rao, Ayaz Memon) · What Would Virat Kohli Do · Victorious Virat Kohli (Padmaja) · Winning Like Virat (A. Bhattacharya) · Virat Kohli An Illustrated Story (Sahil Desai)
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· Sachin: A 100 Hundreds Now (V. Krishnaswamy)
· Playing It My Way (An Autobiography) · सचिन के सौ शतक (D. Panth) · Dhruvtara · Master Stroke: hundred Centuries of Sachin Tendulkar (N Athalye) · If Cricket is A Religion, Sachin is God (S. Balasubramanian, V. Santhanam) · Sachin Tendulkar: Masterful (A. Shukla and Peter Murray) · S. Tendulkar A Definitive Biography (Vaibhav Purandare) · The A to Z of S. Tendulkar (G. Ezekiel) · Sachin Tendulkar: The Story of The World’s Greatest Batsman (G Ezekiel again) · S. Tendulkar Opus |
| Awards | · Indian of the year for the year 2017 (CNN News18)
· Favorite sportsperson of the year 2012 (People’s Choice Awards India) · Naming of a stand-in Delhi’s International cricket stadium as “Virat Kohli Stand” in his honor · Player of the year (International) -By Barmy Army 2018, 2017 · Cricketer of the year (International) by CEAT tires (three times) 2018-2019, 2013-2014, 2011-2012. · Leading Cricketer in the Globe (Wisden) Three times- 2018, 2017, 2016. · Cricketer of the Year (International) P. Umrigar Award (5 times) 2017-2018, 2016-2017, 2015-2016, 2014-2015, 2011-2012. · Member of ICC Team of the decade (T20I cricket) · Member of ICC Team of the decade (Test cricket) · Member of ICC Team of the decade (ODI cricket) · ODI Cricketer of the decade (ICC) · Spirit of Cricket Award 2019 by ICC · Member of ICC test team of the year and also declared as the captain (three times) (2019, 2018, 2017) · Member of ICC ODI team of the year (6 times!) 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014 and 2012 · Player of the year in test cricket (ICC) 2018 · Player of the year in ODI cricket (ICC) (Three times) 2018, 2017 and 2012 · Cricketer of the year AKA Sir G Sobers trophy (two times) 2018, 2017. · Cricketer of the entire decade AKA Sir G Sobers Trophy · R Gandhi Khel Ratna Award awarded to him in the year 2018 · 4th highest Indian civilian award AKA Padma Shri · In 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award |
· World sports award by Laureus awarded for best sporting moment (2000-2020)
· Member of the ICC (International Cricket Council) hall of fame since the year 2019 · Fellowship awards under the Asian awards -2017 · Cricketer of the entire generation (2014) awarded by ESPNCricinfo · A stamp released in his honor by the Indian Postal Service · Order of Australia award awarded by the Australian government in 2012 · Outstanding Achievement Award by Wisden India in the year 2012 · Cricketer of the year (Indian) by Castrol · Awarded the honorary rank of group captain by the great Indian Air Force · People’s Choice Award awarded by LG Electronics · Cricketer of the year AKA Sir G Sobers Trophy awarded in the year 2010 · Member of the ICC (International Cricket Council)’s world test team (3 times) 2011, 2010, 2009 · Cricketer of the year award AKA P. Umrigar award (two times) 2009-2010 and 2006-2007 · Member of the ICC (International Cricket Council)’s world ODI team (three times) 2010, 2007, and 2004 · Player of the tournament of the ICC cricket world cup held in the year 2003 · Leading cricketer of the year by Wisden (twice) 2010 and 1998 · Cricketer of the year (Wisden) 1997 · Bharat Ratna Award 2014 · Padma Vibhushan 2008 · Maharashtra Bhushan award (2001) · Padma Shri (1999) · Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 1997-1998 · Arjuna Award (1994) |
As you might have noticed, Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli by a lot of years. Both come from a humble middle-class background. Another great fact about Sachin Tendulkar is that he has had a short political career as well.
He was nominated for the position of member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) in the year 2012. Virat Kohli is yet to have a political career as of now and we don’t think that he would be thinking about getting involved in politics in the near future.
Both of these legends have had countless books written about them as you might have seen. Also, they have won dozens of awards to date. This only explains why people respect both of these players so much and why they have such a massive fan following throughout the country.
Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar (Debut Comparison)
| Virat Kohli | Sachin Tendulkar | |
| Test Debut | Vs West Indies (20th June 2011) | Vs Pakistan (15th November 1989) |
| ODI (One Day International Debut) | Vs Sri Lanka (18th August 2008) | Vs Pakistan (18th December 1989) |
| T20 International | Vs Zimbabwe (12th June 2010) | Vs South Africa (1st December 2006) |
As you might notice, Tendulkar is a way older player as compared to Virat Kohli. Sachin is also one of the youngest persons to have played for the first time in India. He was just 16 when he debuted against neighboring Pakistan in Karachi.
Now we will proceed to discuss their respective stats for various cricketing formats.
Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar (Test Cricket Stats Comparison)
| Virat Kohli | Sachin Tendulkar | |
| Matches | 87 | 200 |
| Total Runs | 7314 | 15921 |
| Overall Average | 53.42 | 53.78 |
| Number of Centuries Scored | 27 | 51 |
| Number of Half-Centuries Scored | 22 | 68 |
| Best Score Ever in International Test Cricket | 254 | 248 |
| Strike Rate | 57.44 | 54.08 |
As you might see, Tendulkar has played more than double the test matches which Virat Kohli has played till now. But we can still compare their test cricket performance. They have almost equal average indicating that they are batsmen of equal caliber.
They also have an almost equal top score and strike rate. Only time will tell if Virat would be able to break the records set by the Master Blaster.
Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar (ODI Cricket Stats Comparison)
| Virat Kohli | Sachin Tendulkar | |
| Matches | 251 | 463 |
| Total Runs | 12040 | 18426 |
| Overall Average | 59.31 | 44.83 |
| Number of Centuries Scored | 43 | 49 |
| Number of Half-Centuries Scored | 60 | 96 |
| Best Score Ever in International ODI Cricket | 183 | 200 |
| Strike Rate | 93.25 | 86.24 |
As you might see, Virat has somewhat of an upper edge when it comes to ODI (One Day International) cricket. Even though he has played a lot less ODI matches than Tendulkar, he has still managed to smash 43 centuries. He also boasts a far better overall ODI average than Tendulkar.
His strike rate in ODI cricket is also a lot better than the Master Blaster. Hopefully, we might be able to watch him break Sachin’s records in the upcoming future.
Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar (T20I Cricket Stats Comparison)
| Virat Kohli | Sachin Tendulkar | |
| Matches | 85 | 1 |
| Total Runs | 2928 | 10 |
| Overall Average | 50.48 | 10 |
| Number of Centuries Scored | 0 | 0 |
| Number of Half-Centuries Scored | 25 | 0 |
| Best Score Ever in International T20I Cricket | 94 | 10 |
| Strike Rate | 138.44 | 83.33 |
We can’t compare the two players much in this format of international cricket as Sachin Tendulkar has played just one game in this format. It would be an injustice to both the players if we do so. Although an interesting observation is that Virat is yet to score a hundred in this format.
Sachin played just one game in this format because he was of the opinion that youngsters should be given a chance in this format.
Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar (First Class Cricket Stats Comparison)
| Virat Kohli | Sachin Tendulkar | |
| Matches | 109 | 310 |
| Total Runs | 8936 | 25396 |
| Overall Average | 50.48 | 57.84 |
| Number of Centuries Scored | 32 | 81 |
| Number of Half-Centuries Scored | 28 | 116 |
| Best Score Ever in First Class Cricket | 254 | 248 |
Sachin is obviously the winner when it comes to first-class cricket comparison. Kohli has also performed well in first-class cricket but not as great as Sachin.
Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar (IPL Stats Comparison)
| Virat Kohli | Sachin Tendulkar | |
| Matches | 192 | 78 |
| Total Runs | 5878 | 2334 |
| Overall Average | 38.17 | 33.83 |
| Number of Centuries Scored | 5 | 1 |
| Number of Half-Centuries Scored | 39 | 13 |
| Best Score Ever in IPL (Indian Premier League) | 113 | 100 |
| Strike Rate | 130.74 | 119.82 |
Virat can be termed as somewhat of a better player than Sachin. The reason is his better average and strike rate as compared to Sachin. Another fact to consider is that Sachin never played a lot of IPL matches.
So, Who is the better out of the Two?
If you ask us then we would like to say that both of them are of equal caliber when it comes to playing cricket. Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar comparison has proved that in some formats Sachin is better while in others Virat is better.
Also, Virat is yet to retire so he has ample time to prove himself and become even a better cricketer than the god of cricket Sachin himself.
It would be interesting to watch how things turn out.
