'It's My Opinion...': AB de Villiers Breaks Silence On Facing Backlash For Rating Virat Kohli Over Sachin Tendulkar

South Africa cricket legend AB de Villiers has clarified his recent comments comparing Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar after his remarks sparked a strong reaction on social media.

De Villiers had earlier said he believed Kohli was better than Tendulkar when it came to batting in seam-friendly and bouncy overseas conditions. While praising Tendulkar for showing Indian batters that they could succeed outside the subcontinent, he felt Kohli took that trend a step further.

“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,” de Villiers had said on his YouTube channel.

The former South Africa captain added that Tendulkar was the first Indian batter to show that players from the subcontinent could succeed in difficult overseas conditions. According to him, Kohli built on that foundation and inspired the next generation of Indian batters.

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However, the comments did not go down well with a section of cricket fans. The debate quickly spread across social media, with many pointing towards Tendulkar’s far superior Test numbers. Former India pacer Dodda Ganesh also reacted to the comments with a sarcastic post asking de Villiers to “pass on the weed”.

Tendulkar finished his Test career with 15,921 runs and 51 centuries, while Kohli retired from Test cricket in 2025 with 9,230 runs.

AB de Villiers explains his comments

After facing criticism, de Villiers returned to the subject and said his comments had been misunderstood. He stressed that he was only sharing his personal opinion and was not trying to decide who had the better overall career.

“There was a bit of confusion with my Virat and Sachin comment. Remember, it’s my opinion. I’m not axing anyone. I’m telling you the way that I see it,” de Villiers said in another YouTube video.

He then explained what he meant by his comparison.

According to de Villiers, Tendulkar was the player who first showed Indian youngsters that it was possible to perform consistently around the world. Kohli, he believes, took that example forward and brought a different approach to dealing with challenging conditions, particularly against the short ball.

“S Sachin was the first to take things forward for India, showing all the youngsters what it takes to perform consistently everywhere around the world. I said that Virat sort of showed that there is a different dynamic to Indian batting by being good on the short ball. He found a way to counter that,” he said.

De Villiers admits Tendulkar has better overseas numbers

De Villiers also acknowledged that Kohli’s overseas Test record does not match Tendulkar’s, particularly because of Kohli’s struggles in England.

However, he insisted that numbers are not the only way to judge a player’s impact.

“We can always look at stats and say Virat’s stats were not as good abroad, especially because of England, where he really struggled,” de Villiers said.

Despite that, he believes Kohli’s confidence, fitness, leadership and ability to play an all-round game had a major influence on Indian cricket.

De Villiers also pointed to Kohli’s response after his difficult 2014 tour of England, when the former India captain struggled badly against the English attack.

“He took what he learnt from Sachin and took it forward. His record is not as good as Sachin’s away from home, but we don’t always look at stats, especially not me,” de Villiers said.

The South African great made it clear that his comments were more about Kohli’s influence and approach than a direct comparison of their careers.

For de Villiers, Tendulkar laid the foundation, while Kohli helped take Indian batting in overseas conditions to another level. His latest clarification was aimed at making it clear that he was speaking about impact and style rather than suggesting that Kohli’s overall Test record was superior to Tendulkar’s.