Virat Kohli is the "Prince" of Indian cricket, says Ian Chappell

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell described Virat Kohli as the “prince” of Indian cricket and said that the youngster will go on to break Sachin Tendulkar‘s records.

“He (Kohli) is now set to take over not only Tendulkar’s coveted No. 4 spot but also his mantle as the Indian player opponents most want out. Long remember the king for he’s (nearly) gone; hail the prince, because he’s still around to torment bowlers,” – Ian Chappell said.

Chappell also said that the Australian bowlers might have been relieved at the news of Tendulkar’s retirement but their joy will be short lived as Kohli has arrived and will be a handful for them.

He also went onto compare the two hundreds scored by Kohli in the recent series to the ones Tendulkar scored against Australia in Sharjah in 1998.

“Tendulkar’s first hundred in Sharjah was scored in a game India had to perform exceptionally well to advance to the final, while the second came in the final to pull off an extraordinary win – they were the two best ODI innings I saw Tendulkar play.

“He tore into an Australian attack that included Shane Warne, and in both innings Tendulkar scored at better than a run a ball in an era when that wasn’t an everyday occurrence.

“Kohli went one better than Tendulkar. Both his imperious centuries ended in unlikely Indian victories. That’s not to say Kohli is a better player than Tendulkar, but he has acquired the knack of being at crease when the winning runs are hit in extraordinarily difficult chases.”

A few days back, former India captain and opener Sunil Gavaskar also said that Kohli can break Tendulkar’s record number of ODI centuries.