Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison has started a debate by choosing Virat Kohli over Sachin Tendulkar as the greatest cricketer of the modern era.
Harmison praised Kohli’s ability to perform under intense pressure, adapt to the changinggame, and his ability to stay consistent despite all the challenges of modern cricket. His comments have restarted the Kohli vs Tendulkar comparison among fans and experts.
“I put Virat Kohli at No. 1 over Sachin Tendulkar, and that would raise a lot of eyebrows. But I thought his career, and what he had to do in his career, I thought the way the game changed over the course of this last ten years, Virat’s had to deal with a hell of a lot more off the field stuff that would affect him on the field. I think for me, in the last 20–30 years, the greatest cricketer that has played the game, you take Shane Warne out, because he had come a lot before, I think it’s Virat Kohli,” Harmison said on talkSPORT Cricket.
Kohli often says Tendulkar is his idol. He hasalready broken many records of the Master Blaster, which includes the most ODI centuries. Kohli has 51 and Tendulkar had 49. However, Kohli is still behind Tendulkar in total runs. Tendulkar finished his ODI career with 18,426. Kohli currently has 14,181 runs.
Kohli ended his 14–year red-ball journey earlier this year. He began his Test journey in 2011 against the West Indies. He scored 9,230 runs in 123 Tests at an average of 46.85, which includes 30 centuries. As captain, he guided India to 40 victories in 68 Tests which is the most by an India captain.
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