#1 Impact on Indian cricket

No matter how many records Virat goes on to break, his impact on Indian cricket will never be the same as that of Sachin’s, who has inspired an entire generation of India to fall in love with the sport madly. In fact, many of the current lot of players in the Indian team began playing cricket because of their awe of Sachin. They have learned from his greatness and have tried to imbibe his finer qualities in them. Not just cricketers alone, Sachin had the power to get the common man, woman and child hooked onto the game. The entire nation would collectively hold its breath when Sachin would be at the crease.

Sachin is India’s own ‘baby’. People have seen him transform from an innocent ‘child prodigy’ to a living legend. The Indian people’s sentiments with Sachin are something which is unmatched and unheard of. Virat Kohli, despite being the brilliant batsman that he is, can never come close to creating such a humongous impact.

There is no denying that Virat Kohli has all the potentials of a great batsman in him. But he has a long way to go before he can really be compared to the legend of Sachin Tendulkar. People in India should know that. For now, they should just enjoy the brilliance of Virat and hope that he keeps doing well for India, instead of overburdening him with such comparisons. In fact, India should consider itself fortunate to have someone whom they can count on after Sachin’s departure from cricket.

One thing is for certain; there will never be another Sachin Tendulkar, or anyone like him, in our lifetime. And maybe, just maybe, 20 years down the line, our next generation would say the same for Virat Kohli.

#2 Temperament

More than the records and statistics though, what sets great men apart is their temperament. Sachin Tendulkar survived for 24 long years in international cricket; not just because of his talent but because he had extraordinary temperament. Virat Kohli seems to lack that. Tendulkar was calm, calculated and reserved in his approach whereas Kohli has an in-your-face attitude and seems to wear his heart in his sleeve. While this attitude has worked well for him thus far, it might hurt him badly when he endures a rough phase. Sachin too had a few bad patches in his career, but he always came out of those as he calmly bore the storm. Will Kohli be able to do the same?

Click Here to see the Similarities between Kohli and Sachin.