Virat Kohli is better than Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs, says Usman Khawaja

Former Indian skipper, Virat Kohli has been exhibiting sensational form in the ongoing 2023 World Cup in India. In 3 matches that India have played so far, Virat Kohli has managed to score 156 runs at an average of 78, including 2 half-centuries. 

India’s run-machine, Virat Kohli is, unarguably, one of the greatest limited over’s batsmen of this generation. His records in white-ball cricket speaks for itself. Kohli, over the years, has scored truckload of runs across formats and has made a substantial contribution with the bat in the ICC tournaments. 

Thanks to his batting credentials, Kohli has often been compared to the batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar. Recently, Australian batter, Usman Khawaja stated that Virat Kohli is better than Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs. 

He backed his statement by comparing the batting numbers of both the cricketers. 

"I am going to say Virat Kohli is better than Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs. If you look at the stats, he has almost taken over how many hundreds he (Tendulkar) has got, and he has played so many more less games. Sachin was the benchmark for when I grew up, but what Kohli is doing right now—no one has ever done that in the game." Khawaja said. 

It is important to mention that Virat Kohli has scored 47 centuries in ODIs, while Tendulkar has 49.  In 284 ODIs, Kohli has, so far, scored 13,239 runs, while Tendulkar has 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs.  Australia’s former spinner, Brad Hogg also heaped praise on Virat Kohli during the same discussion. He highlighted Virat Kohli’s ability to change gears as per the situation of the game. 

"The other thing I like about him is how he controls the tempo of the game when he bats. He has got different gears. He can go in and take the game away from you, and can also get into a shell when he has to. He just controls the whole tempo of the game." Hogg said.