Virat Kohli is more aggressive than Sachin Tendulkar : Jeff Thomson

ByArun S Kaimal, SportsCafe Editor

06/03/2016

Jeff Thomson has compared Virat Kohli's tenaciousness to that of West Indies legend Viv Richards. The Aussie great has revealed his long standing admiration for the Indian Test captain, and has insisted that while Sachin was aggressive with the bat, Virat is 'outwardly aggressive'.

Talking to India Today, the former Australian speedster has said Kohli is more aggressive than Sachin Tendulkar. “He is more aggressive than Sachin. Sachin may have been aggressive with the bat but Virat is outwardly aggressive. Like all good batsmen you talk your tongue with the bat. He talks the talk and walks the walk. He backs it up," he said.

Even though most critics are not happy with Kohli’s behavior on-field, Thomson wouldn’t want him to change. "Look if he was in my team and I was the coach I would just love it. If I was a 'bowler' in my side, I would want to carry on like that," he told India Today..

Thomson first complimented Virat Kohli in January 2016, when he was being inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame, and the visiting team captain decided to meet him. "Mate, I saw you when you were young, loved your attitude, the way you gave it back to the Aussies," Thomson recalled having told Kohli back then. Coming from an Australian, that was a huge compliment.

(Also, read to find out how chasing teams achieved unprecedented success in recently concluded IPL)

Kohli has performed remarkably well down under. His performances in 2012 were the early signs of many subsequent ODI hundreds Kohli, eventually, struck there. "I am not saying because of what he is now, but I have always loved Virat from the day I saw him. I liked him from the time he first came to Australia and was a nobody. I thought this kid can bat. I just liked his attitude," Jeff Thomson said.

The Delhi lad’s heroics in the WorldT20 and the IPL have only made Thomson’s admiration for him more pronounced. "To me, he bats with a fast bowler’s tenaciousness. He gives it back same way it is dished out to him. A bit like Viv Richards," he said.

(Also, read Sachin v Kohli - The end to the endless debate on who is the greater of the two)

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