Why it is wrong to compare the greatness of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli

Once, my teacher was explaining the concept of Normal Distribution and the Bell Curve. All the points in the data set would be symmetrically distributed and the graph would take the shape of a bell.

When I was trying to reconcile this concept with Virat Kohli’s international career, it did not make any sense to me.

Just a decade has gone by in his international career and he has already smashed several batting records. The way he is plundering runs against every opposition across all formats of the game, suggests that his career is filled with only peaks, and that there are no troughs. Moreover, what he has achieved in the last three years is truly mind-boggling.

His ODI batting averages in the three years from 2016 to 2018 were 92.38, 76.84 and 133.56. Even in Tests, his averages during that period were 75.94, 75.64 and 55.08.

This year, Kohli became the first cricketer to win all three ICC awards (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year, the ICC Men’s Test Player of the Year and the ICC ODI Player of the Year).

All these records and awards seem to augur well for Indian cricket and also for Kohli’s fans. But one must remember that before Kohli came into the limelight, there was 'God' by the name of Sachin Tendulkar, who served the nation for almost a quarter of a century.

Right from the time he was struck on the nose by a vicious bouncer from Waqar Younis, which he responded to by hitting the next two deliveries for boundaries, Tendulkar has always been destined to reach great heights.

In his career of 24 years, he produced tonnes of memories - hitting an incredible hundred at Perth when he was just 18, launching a stunning assault against the Kiwis when he came out to open for the first time, the 'desert storm' innings, the battling 136 against Pakistan at Chennai, the age-defying 175 against Australia, the World Cup win in 2011 - all of this will be etched in the minds of cricket fans for eternity.

Sachin Tendulkar (L) and Virat Kohli

So now that Kohli is stamping his authority as one of the all-time greats of the game, he is constantly being compared to the man who first set all those high standards. But a question that needs to be addressed at this juncture is - is it right to compare the two at all?

Kohli took 54 fewer innings than Tendulkar to reach 10,000 runs in ODIs, and he is well on course to break many of the latter's records. But one must remember that records and statistics are not the only indication of the greatness of a cricketer.

There are a host of other factors that need to be taken into consideration - the quality of the bowling attack, the condition of the pitches and most importantly the era in which the cricketer played.

Secondly, Kohli has always had good support from his team. Many of the centuries that he has made have been assisted by significant contributions from his teammates - be it the 133 at Hobart or the 183 against Pakistan in Asia Cup.

Tendulkar on the other hand did not have that luxury. There are plenty of innings in which he single-handedly took the team home. Tendulkar's team were always termed as underdogs, whereas Kohli's team are tagged as favourites.

Finally, it is not right to compare a cricketer who carried the burdens of a billion-plus people for so long. Tendulkar satisfied the wishes of his ardent devotees for two decades; his career helped bring peace to a crazy world. It was only Tendulkar who had the ability to captivate and enthrall the minds of India's masses.

Every time he walked out bat, he had the task of satisfying the expectations of millions of fans, and it is to his eternal credit that he did exactly that so often, and in his own inimitable style.

Kohli has been anointed as the successor of Tendulkar, and he is well on course to become the undisputed monarch of cricket. But right now, instead of making constant comparisons, let us all rejoice the insurmountable heights attained by the man and welcome him as the 'new legend'.