Aakash Chopra has heaped praise on Virat Kohli and picked him ahead of Sachin Tendulkar in ODI cricket. Chopra, who played international cricket with Sachin, opined that Kohli is way ahead of Sachin in SENA countries and there is no comparison between them. The former India opener made a huge remark on Kohli and said that there hasn’t been a better player than him in ODIs. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “Overall in SENA countries, Virat clearly has Sachin beat. When it comes to ODI cricket, there is no comparison.”

“Even with any parameter and excuses like the difference in eras accounted for, there hasn’t been a better ODI player than Virat Kohli. No one has understood ODI cricket better than Kohli. He has measured this format like a calculator and become the run machine, ton machine, and chase master. So while Sachin has stolen the march between these two in Tests, in ODIs, it’s clearly Virat Kohli,” he added.

Kohli, who made his ODI debut in 2008, currently has the second-best average (58.59) in the format (minimum 50 innings). The former India captain has piled up 14941 runs in 302 innings across 314 innings. In 2018, he became the quickest batter to score 10,000 runs in ODIs. Kohli as 54 centuries in the format. No other batter has scored 50 ODI centuries.

Sachin made his ODI debut against Pakistan in 1989. The Master Blaster’s career graph improved after he started opening the innings in 1994. He formed a strong opening pair with Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag. Sachin and Ganguly own the record for the highest career partnership runs by any pair. They together piled up 8227 runs. Sachin and Sehwag together added 4387 runs.

In February 2010, Sachin became the first batter in world cricket to score a double-century in ODIs. Kohli owns many records in the format but he has never breached the 200-run mark. He has a highest score of 183 in ODIs.

Disclaimer: This article summarizes a report by Aakash Chopra. While Times Now has verified the public data presented, the interpretations of ‘intent’ remain those of the creator.