Former cricketer AB de Villiers shared his opinion on the greatest batter debate and made a bold claim between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. The former South African cricketer also lauded both the cricketers for showing subcontinent batters how to succeed in SENA countries. However, per Mr. 360, Kohli did more than Tendulkar to establish himself in Test cricket as a dominant batter, especially in overseas conditions. De Villiers was speaking following India’s 165-run win over Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday.
"I think of someone like Sachin Tendulkar way back, who started that trend for India. Yet, he wasn't as strong as someone like Virat Kohli, who was even better. But Sachin was the first guy to show that as a subcontinent batter, you can do well in bouncy and seaming conditions. Virat took that forward and raised the bar," he spoke on his YouTube channel. Not only this, but he also pointed out that the success of these two batters has inspired the next lot of Indian players including KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal and others to raise their game.
"Because of that, there are quite a few players now like [KL] Rahul and [Devdutt] Padikkal, who have started to up that trend and follow in the footsteps of a Virat and a Sachin," the 42-year-old added.
He has to get bigger scores: AB de Villiers suggests KL Rahul Still Has Room for Improvement
Apart from comparing legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, the former Proteas batter also suggested that Indian vice-captain KL Rahul still has room for improvement. "KL is a guy with a sound technique and is a big asset in that Indian lineup. But he averages only 34 away from home. So you'll expect more and that is one area where he has to work on. He has to get bigger scores once he gets in and not just get a 100 but make it a 180 because that first-ball duck and getting out to the newish ball is always around the corner. So for him, the name of the game will be to make the big scores even bigger," AB de Villiers opined.
Notably, in the recently-concluded first Test between India and Sri Lanka, Rahul put up a fiery 82 from 175 balls in the first innings. However, in the second innings, he was sent back to pavilion on 35 runs in 47 deliveries.
