Let's leave Tendulkar and Virat alone, and enjoy the game

It was around 10:40 am at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. The delirious crowd was chanting the name of arguably India’s greatest sportsman in the last quarter of a century - Sachin Tendulkar.

Just when he was looking good on 74 and had thrown open the tantalizing prospect of a century in his last Test innings, Sachin Tendulkar made his last batting mistake.

As the delivery bowled by Narsingh Deonarine took the edge of Tendulkar’s bat and flew to Darren Sammy at first slip, the Wankhede Stadium turned into stunned silence. The silence slowly turned into applause as the crowd realised that it was probably the last time that Tendulkar departed from a cricket ground.

And amidst all the frenzy, a 24-year-old young batsman responding to the name of Virat Kohli came out and smashed the next ball to the boundary for four - the symbolism was evident in it obviousness - the baton was passed on from one generation to another-from the departing emperor to the heir apparent.

For almost a quarter of a century, Sachin Tendulkar was the gold standard. There was no one who could be taken in the same breath of his, and any comparison with any other batsman (with the glorious exception of the Don) was shunned away by people. What set Tendulkar on a different pedestal, apart from the sheer fact that he bore the weight of expectations of a billion people on his shoulders for almost a quarter of a century were the numbers he had conjured.

For, in an incredible 664 international matches, the diminutive master batsman had notched up a mind-boggling 34357 runs and an incredible 100 international hundreds.

And what more, by the time Tendulkar retired from ODI cricket in 2012, he was leading his closest competitor Ricky Ponting, by a staggering 19 hundreds.

But, such is the wonderful nature of sport that nothing lasts forever. We never thought that the time would come and that too so soon, when almost all of Tendulkar’s big-ticket records might be in danger. Fast forward six years to 2018 - Virat Kohli has been notching up hundreds at will, redefining the meaning of consistency, and has been plundering every opposition under all conditions.

Kohli grew up watching Tendulkar bat on television while his mother was changing diapers for him, and a quarter of a century later, it looks like it will be Kohli, who will dethrone the little master from the summit in ODI cricket.

While the duo have traversed peaks hitherto untrodden by other mortals, what is difficult to overlook are the similarities. Both these men have made the other mortals fade way into oblivion while revealing their genius.

Both of them showed the world that they were made of steely resolve when they turned out for their respective sides after they lost their fathers. While Tendulkar announced his genius to the world in Perth of 1992 when he scored a breathtaking 114 while still in his teens against the mighty Australians, Kohli gave the world a glimpse of his talent when he notched up a dazzling 138 against the Sri Lankans at Hobart when India were to chase a target of 321 inside 40 overs to stay alive.

If Tendulkar took batting to a whole new dimension by refusing to play a single cover drive on his way to a 241 in Sydney in 2004, Kohli too scored a magnificent double hundred against England in the sapping Wankhede humidity.

And more importantly, both men have been the backbones of their respective batting lineups. Just after Kohli fell in the 3rd ODI against the West Indies, the Indian line-up folded up like nine pins handing probably the weakest West Indies team to tour India a win. And there have been innumerable instances where the brilliance and genius of Tendulkar have gone in vain for India.

Kohli has always tried to play down the comparison with his batting idol. When Kohli was asked in an interview about the comparisons between him and Tendulkar, Kohli replied “Nobody can understand the importance of Sachin in my life. You are doing a disservice to him by comparing me and him. He is two levels above any player.”

It was a statement made with a sense of utmost veneration for his idol.

Even Tendulkar has been effusive in praise for Kohli. When Tendulkar was asked in an event organised to celebrate his historic 100th 100 as who could realistically go past his Himalayan records way back in 2012, Tendulkar mentioned two names - Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. While the latter still has a long way to go, it looks like Kohli will, in all probability go past most of Tendulkar’s records.

And while it might be very tempting to do what we all Indians love to do - compare, we will have to understand that comparing two batting powerhouses of different eras will lead us nowhere. While the question of how would have Kohli fared in the Tendulkar era will be useful for some armchair discussions, it a question that will lead us to no meaningful conclusions.

Kohli still has a long way to go, a lot more attacks to tame and a lot more battles to win. Tendulkar is still at the summit of batting and it is only right that we keep him there. And this is going to be an incredible journey as Kohli takes steps towards batting immortality and inches closer to the summit.

And this journey would turn out to be a riveting and an elevating one if we refrain from doing what we love most - comparison.