Sachin Tendulkar believes difference in eras makes Virat Kohli comparisons unfair

Sachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as the greatest batsman in cricket history. However, the emergence of the highly-consistent Virat Kohli, who is in the form of his life, has certainly planted seeds of doubts in the minds of fans and critics alike and prompted comparisons between the two players after Kohli’s on-field exploits.

But the Mumbai-born batsman calmed all the chaos surrounding these comments when he spoke to TOI reporters on the opening day of the camp that the Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy is conducting at the DY Patil Stadium in Nerul, Navi Mumbai.

"The objective of this camp and the ones that will follow is to ensure an all-round development of the youngsters. Virat has developed immensely as a player over the years. I always saw that spark in him and always felt he is going to be one of the leading players in the world, not just of this generation, but one of the leading players of all time.

"If one has to go into comparisons, then I don't want to get into that. There were different bowlers who played in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, in my era and the ones who are playing today. Then, each generation played differently, there were different rules, different restrictions, different surfaces, different balls as well. So lots of things have changed," Tendulkar said at the event.

The Master Blaster then went onto to give his opinion about India’s upcoming tour of Australia which will see Kohli & Co. go up against a Steve Smith and David Warner-less Aussie squad. Tendulkar suggested that while Warner and Smith were class cricketers, he could not determine if the sanctions imposed on the pair were justified or not.

"I think we have a huge opportunity this time. The Australian team does not look like the same side that it used to be in the past and with (Steve) Smith and (David) Warner not there, this is a chance for India to go out and do something special.

"I would want to see good cricket for sure. They both (Smith and Warner) are world-class players. But, I don't want to get into that debate whether the ban should be reduced or not," Tendulkar added.