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.

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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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.

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.

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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.

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.

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.