Two cricketing legends from different eras, whose impact on cricket will still be felt through the year 2026.

#VIRAT KOHLI #SACHIN TENDULKAR

Sachin’s career spanned 24 years from the debut of a 16-year-old boy until his retirement at the age of 40. He is currently the leading run-scorer in all forms of international cricket with more than 34,000 runs scored, 100 centuries reached, and is the only player with such a high level of international performance. Over this entire period, the expectations placed on him were enormous, and he consistently fulfilled them while facing the world’s best bowlers in every stadium and in every country.

Virat has had a relatively short international career, having started in 2008, and it is presumed that he will be active until 2026. Nearly eight years into this period, he has surpassed 27,000 international runs, scored well over 80 international centuries across all formats, has a great record for outstanding performance in limited-overs cricket, and is known for remaining level-headed when chasing targets and under pressure to perform at the highest level.

Hitting Style and Technique

As a batsman, Tendulkar has a technically sound (i.e., balanced, footwork, timings) batting ability. He possesses the ability to perform admirably in all formats of batting conditions, no matter the level of bowler (ie, fast bowler or spinner) bowled against him, because his style of hitting relies more on his accuracy rather than his power.

As it relates to batting styles, Kohli separates himself from both Tendulkar’s classical style of hitting and his modern-day aggressive hitting style. Kohli’s strong wrist action, speed when running between the wickets and mental toughness make him one of the best chasers of all time.

When comparing batting formats, Tendulkar holds the record for total runs and centuries in Test cricket because of his longevity. Kohli also had an outstanding test batting average and was a major contributor to India’s Test success when playing abroad, and Kohli also holds an impressive ODI batting average and record for chasing score totals and, therefore, is one of the greatest one-day batsmen of all time. In T20 International cricket, Kohli is far above all others because Tendulkar played very little in T20 cricket.

Kohli has had an aggressive leadership style, and he has transformed the Indian cricket team through a focus on fitness making the Indian cricket team a competitive team outside of India. Tendulkar’s captaincy was modest in scope and success, as he was unable to maintain the same type of success as Kohli did during his leadership career.

Tendulkar’s legacy is that of a man who inspired generations, inspired future cricketers and guided Indian cricket during the darker days. Kohli is the face of modern professional cricket; he sets an entirely new standard of commitment and passion for fitness, work ethic, desire to win (tenacity), and, of course, consistency. But above all, they are legends of the sport that can never be replaced, each representing greatness during each of their own respective eras.