Ashwin picks Sachin over Kohli and reveals what Virat needs to do to be at par

Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar (AP Photo) Ravichandran Ashwin has spent years sharing the dressing room with Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, but when asked to settle the never-ending debate about who is the better batsman, the former India spinner has a clear answer.For Ashwin, Tendulkar remains ahead of Kohli and his considerations go beyond numbers. The era in which Tendulkar played and the enormous responsibility he carried as the greatest hope of Indian cricket are central to Ashwin’s argument.The Tendulkar-Kohli comparison continued to grow as Kohli overtook several ODI records previously held by his idol. Kohli has already moved ahead of Tendulkar’s tally of ODI centuries, while Tendulkar remains way ahead in Test cricket. Their contrasting records across formats have ensured that the debate is unlikely to go away even after Kohli’s retirement.Ashwin believes that Kohli has several qualities that make him special, especially his fitness, consistency and ability to score hundreds regularly. But in terms of sheer skill, he feels Tendulkar remains elusive.“Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli should never be compared and every time I stick my neck out and say, Sachin Tendulkar. In two ways. First, I’m a big fan. And second, look at the kind of innings he played. He was the hope of Indian cricket. It’s not Virat Kohli’s fault. If he was at man 3, he would no doubt have looked at the bat, no. rules, in the first innings, after 34 odds against West Indies in the 1st ODI, they should have played with one ball ‘Ash ki Baat’.However, there is one achievement that could see Ashwin put Kohli on the same pedestal as Tendulkar.That is the elusive landmark of 100 international centuries.Kohli currently has 86 international hundreds and needs 14 more to reach the mark Tendulkar set 14 years ago. With India expected to play another 30-odd ODIs, including the next World Cup in South Africa, an opportunity remains for Kohli to achieve the record.Kohli has already said that the 2027 World Cup will be his last appearance in the tournament. Ashwin also doesn’t expect his former captain to continue after the event, making the 100-century chase particularly significant.For Ashwin, reaching this number would change the comparison. If Kohli manages to complete a century of international hundreds before or during the 2027 World Cup, Ashwin believes the two batting greats will finally stand at par.“As a supporter, I really wish he’d hang up his boots by then (WC 2027) as he’s committed to making this his last World Cup. It takes a lot of effort to maintain such an elite level of fitness and batting and I’m sure he’s continuing to do that behind closed doors. He doesn’t want to do it afterwards. Logically, 0 centuries – he can score if he can, 0 Hats off, it will be a remarkable achievement and if he can do it I’d say that both are at par, without a shadow of a doubt,” added Ashwin.

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