Former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly refused to indulge in the Sachin Tendulkar vs Virat Kohli fan debate but decided to praise the batsman after his 45th ODI century against Sri Lanka in the first ODI. Kohli is on the verge of breaking Tendulkar’s record of most centuries and came a step closer after scoring an impressive 113 in Guwahati on 10 December.
The 34-year-old ended his 2022 campaign with a century against Bangladesh and has now started 2023 with another stellar performance with the bat. During a promotional event, as quoted by PTI, Ganguly was asked a question about the Tendulkar vs Kohli debate. However, the former BCCI president decided not to get into the debate and said it was a tough question.
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However, he praised Kohli as a great player and said that it is no joke for a player to score 45 centuries. Ganguly further said that Kohli is a special cricketer, even though there will be times when he will not be able to score much runs.
As quoted by India Today, Sourav Ganguly said, “It is difficult to answer this question. Kohli is a brilliant player. He has played so many innings, 45 centuries are not like that. He is a special talent. There will be times when he Won’t score, but he is a special player.”
Former Indian opener, Gautam Gambhir also commented after Kohli’s century and asked the star batsman to break Tendulkar’s record in ODIs.
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During a chat on Star Sports, Gautam Gambhir said, “To be honest it is not about the record. Virat Kohli would go on to score many more centuries in the 50-over format than Sachin Tendulkar. Look, the rules have changed. You shouldn’t compare ages. It is also not fair to compare eras where there was one new ball compared to now, when there are two new balls with five fielders inside. But yes, he has been a master in this format and he has shown it over such a long period of time.”
