"Virat Kohli was better than Sachin Tendulkar" — AB de Villiers' controversial comment sparks massive debate

The former legendary batter and the captain of the South African side, Ab de Villiers, has dropped a controversial statement regarding the two giants of the game, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, where he reckoned that the latter had performed better than Tendulkar in the Test format away from home. 

India's Tendulkar remains the leading run-getter of the longest format with 15921 runs and celebrated 51 centuries, with an away average of nearly 55 in 176 innings. On the other hand, Kohli, who retired from the Tests in 2025, finished with 9230 runs in 123 Tests with an away average of 41 in 68 Tests.

AB de Villiers makes the bold claim that puts Virat Kohli above Sachin Tendulkar

Ab de Villiers reckoned that Tendulkar was the first player who showed that even coming from Asia, one could play on the bouncy and seaming conditions, while Kohli raised the bar. 

“I think of someone like Sachin Tendulkar way back, who started that trend for India. Yet, he wasn’t as strong as someone like Virat Kohli, who was even better. But Sachin was the first guy to show that as a subcontinent batter, you can do well in bouncy and seaming conditions. Virat took that forward and raised the bar.” He expressed on his YouTube channel.

The veteran, who averaged over 50 for his 8765 runs in 114 tests, reckoned that KL Rahul’s solidity at the top of the batting order for India has put himself among the greats.

See Also: AB de Villiers' Top 5 ODI Batters of All Time

“Because of that, there are quite a few players now like [KL] Rahul and [Devdutt] Padikkal, who have started to up that trend and follow in the footsteps of a Virat and a Sachin.” The former Protea batter addressed. 

“KL is a guy with a sound technique and is a big asset in that Indian lineup. But he averages only 34 away from home. So, you’ll expect more and that is one area where he has to work on. He has to get bigger scores once he gets in and not just get a 100 but make it a 180 because that first-ball duck and getting out to the newish ball is always around the corner.” He informed.

Sachin's 15,921 Test runs vs Kohli's tally — A look at the numbers behind the debate

Away from India, Kohli smashed 4894 runs in 123 innings at an average of 41.13 with 18 fifties and 16 centuries at the best score of 200 runs as he had eight ducks in these games on his name. 

See Also: Top 10 Greatest ODI Batters — Ranked and Debated

Meanwhile, at home, he had an average of 55.59 for his 4336 runs in 87 innings, celebrating 14 centuries and 13 fifties at the best score of 254*. Tendulkar smashed 8705 runs in 176 innings of the foreign Tests at an average of 54.75 with 36 fifties and 29 centuries at the best score of 248*. 

The former star claimed 7216 runs in 153 innings at an average of 52.67 at home in the longest format with 22 centuries and 32 fifties at the best score of 217 runs.