South Africa legend AB De Villiers issued a clarification after receiving severe backlash on rating former Indian skipper Virat Kohli over icon Sachin Tendulkar. A few days ago, de Villiers stated that
while Tendulkar did his bit to take Indian cricket on a global level, Kohli was better than him when it came to seam-friendly overseas conditions. Not only this, but he also added that Tendulkar was a pioneer for subcontinent batters but Kohli surpassed him. Needless to say, the comments by ABD didn’t sit well with Indian fans, and the former international faced criticism and a huge backlash on social media.
It led to the former Proteas skipper issuing a clarification, and stated that it was his opinion. "There was a bit of confusion with my Virat and Sachin comment. Remember, it's my opinion. I'm not axing anyone. I'm telling you the way that I see it. Sachin was the first to take things forward for India, showing all the youngsters what it takes to perform consistently everywhere around the world. I said that Virat sort of showed that there is a different dynamic to Indian batting by being good on the short ball. He found a way to counter that," the South Africa stated.
We Can Always Look at Stats and Say Virat’s Stats Were Not As Good: AB de Villiers
Mr. 360, as he is fondly called in the cricketing fraternity, de Villiers said that stats can be checked and say that Kohli wasn’t good abroad. However, according to the South African, the former skipper looked more confident and played well-balanced cricket. "We can always look at stats and say Virat's stats were not as good abroad, especially because of England, where he really struggled. But I still feel he looked confident and played the all-round, well-balanced cricket that's needed to succeed abroad and inspired a lot of youngsters around him,” Kohli’s former RCB teammate said.
“He took what he learnt from Sachin and took it forward. His record is not as good as Sachin's away from home, but we don't always look at stats, especially not me. And that's what I meant with showing the new generation of cricketers how the way forward should look. Staying fit, leading by example, having the all-round game," he went on to say.
