After the God of Cricket, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar one of the Cricket Icon in the modern era hung up his boots, many wondered if the records accumulated by the master blaster would ever be threatened by a cricketer in the future.

While Sachin Tendulkar, an inspirational cricketer is often referred to as the “God of Cricket,” there is always a debate about who comes second in this list.

Some of Sachin’s records have been superhuman effort which shook the cricketing world when it was achieved.

Virat Kohli’s remarkable records and dedication have become a Cricket Icon
in his own right and earned him the nickname, “Second God of Cricket”.

Presented By: Raghunath Nair

A player who started his career when the great man was in the twilight of his glorious career helped Virat Kohli learn the art of batting while sharing the Indian dressing room.

Over the years, many gifted batsmen and Cricket Icons have graced the cricket game and displayed the potential to dominate the field of play as the ‘Little Master’ did. Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, and Virat Kohli made the “Fab 4” in the modern game.

In the Fab 4, while all the batsman were heavy scorers, Virat Kohli was the clear winner when it came to dominating the opposition. This made him a unique player in the Fab 4.

Also Read – ODI Cricket’s G.O.A.T. – Top 10 – “The Greatest of All Time”

With Virat Kohli now in the race for the G.O.A.T race, cricket fans keep a tab on every run scored by the former India captain as he comes closer to many of Sachin’s records.

Introduction

The Journey to Becoming a Legend

A Delhi-born kid, In October 2002, Virat Kohli began his professional cricket career playing for the Delhi Under-15 team in the 2002–03 Polly Umrigar Trophy.

Virat played in the under-19 category and India won the under-19 World Cup under his leadership. This was his initial claim to fame and once he got into the Indian senior team there was no looking back and the rest is as they say history.

Virat Kohli is called “The King” and is widely considered as one of the best batsmen currently playing the game.

He is an all-format player and his skills seem to work in any format he plays. He currently has a remarkable track record in all formats of the game.

The Run Machine

Test: 8676 Runs

ODI: 13848 Runs

T20: 4008 Runs

Kohli is known for his aggressive stroke play and adapts to all conditions.

Due to his prowess with the bat, his fielding is often ignored. He is one of the best fielders in the world in close-in position Fielding or can be placed around the boundary lines.

Kohli also was a very successful captain in all formats, showing a new dimension to his leadership role in the team.

Kohli’s run-scoring ability in all formats has earned him the admiration of fans and players alike.

Comparisons with the First God of Cricket

Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar, probably the two modern greats in Indian sports are regarded as two of the greatest batters of all time in world cricket.

Current Records

Sachin Tendulkar: 

                    Test Cricket: Highest Run Scorer

                   ODI Cricket: Highest Run Scorer

Virat Kohli

                    T20 Cricket: Highest Run Scorer

Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar Statistics comparison

Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs

Sachin Tendulkar is the first superman in ODI Cricket hailed as the greatest limited overs batter of all time and is the only batter to have scored over 15,000 runs in this format.

However, Virat Kohli is now near these milestones and has exhibited dominance in ODIs in the last decade.

He also averages above 58 in the format, the most for any batter with over 6,000 runs.

Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar ODI records

Kohli the Chase Master and his hundreds

Kohli’s centuries have led to more wins than any other player.

23 centuries helped in winning cause in chases as compared to Sachin who has 17 centuries in winning cause while chasing.

Overall Kohli has 41 centuries as compared to 33 centuries of Sachin in winning cause.

Influence and Contributions

Fan Perspectives and Global Recognition

Virat Kohli with his body of work has become an icon in the world of sport. He is truly an inspirational figure and a Global cricket star in the world of cricket. His work ethic and undying love for the game is evident every time he steps onto the cricket field.

Like his hero Sachin Tendulkar, Virat is a mild-mannered and soft-spoken person off the field which has made him an inspirational figure for all young athletes around the world.

Virat Kohli enjoys a great fan following due to his unwavering dedication, incredible work ethic, and consistent performance on the field have set a high standard for aspiring cricketers. His passion for the game and his ability to lead by example make him a true role model for many.

Virat Kohli became Google’s most searched cricketer in its 25-year history. The tech giant completed 25 years and released a video on ‘X’ showcasing the frequently searched moments and people.

He is now the most popular and most talked about athlete in the country on social media including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Virat Kohli is also the most-followed Asian on Instagram, with over 264 million followers.

Virat Kohli is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the sport, and the best of this era. He is the highest run-scorer in T20I and IPL. In 2020, the International Cricket Council named him the male cricketer of the decade.

Challenges and Controversies

Virat Kohli due to his aggressive nature on the cricket field has never shied away from having a word or two with the opponents and often gets involved in heated altercations.

He has lashed out at reporters, shown the finger to an unruly crowd in the stadium, and verbal exchanges with his opponents and his differences between coach, Anil Kumble and Ex BCCI Chief Sourav Ganguly have been well documented.

Virat has mellowed down over the years and has become a much calmer and sensible person.

Legacy and Future Impact

Kohli led India in 68 Tests, winning 40. He helped India regain the No. 1 spot.

India was always Invincible at home, but under Kohli, India began to win in challenging conditions abroad more consistently.

Batsman Kohli thrived too, making all seven of his double hundreds as skipper—20 of his 27 centuries come as captain.

As captain, he scored 5,864 runs, averaging 54.80.

Indian Test Approach –

History

India traditionally had a spin-dominated bowling attack since the beginning of their Test game. No Captain wanted to change this style of play from Pataudi to Dhoni. All Captains preferred to dominate in Indian conditions with their spin attack. This meant that the Indian team never created a pool of fast bowlers. Due to a shortage of quality fast bowling pool, Indian teams always struggled in foreign conditions.

 Virat’s Approach to Test Cricket

Kohli focussed on building a potent pace attack and backed his young fast bowlers. The results were very encouraging as India started winning Test Matches in ‘SENA’ Countries.

Focus on Match fitness

Kohli, a fitness freak himself brought in a culture of bringing in fitness parameters for the playing eleven and made the YO-YO test compulsory for selections.

Virat Kohli was pretty vocal on his views on Test Cricket. He kept Test cricket alive in the era of the shorter form of cricket taking precedence.

He is indeed one of the finest ambassadors for red-ball cricket, and will always be part of his glorious legacy.

Under his captaincy, bowlers had the finest numbers with great averages and strike rates with 56 five-wicket and eight 10-wicket hauls.

This proved that he was a captain who wanted results in test Cricket to avoid the boredom of draws in the longer format.

His partnership with Coach Ravi Shastri was a golden period in Indian Cricket history. Only lack of an ICC trophy eluded this captain-coach combination.

Conclusion

Virat Kohli’s record-breaking achievements and landmarks have surpassed boundaries, solidifying his status as a cricket legend.

Virat Kohli is known as the Second God of Cricket because of his consistency as was the case with Sachin Tendulkar.

Kohli has not yet surpassed Sachin’s records, but in another couple of years, Kohli will start threatening most of Sachin’s records.

Kohli- The Second and the Next God of Cricket.