‘Virat Kohli doesn’t want power or leadership': Sanjay Manjrekar highlights similarities with Sachin Tendulkar

Comparisons between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar are frequently made. Kohli's insatiable hunger for runs is the primary cause for this.

The mountain of runs he has already scored in his 15-year career has already positioned him among the game's all-time greats, and the former India captain shows no signs of slowing down.

After smashing his 47th ODI century against Pakistan in an Asia Cup Super 4 match, Kohli came another great step closer to matching Tendulkar's all-time record of ODI centuries. It is only a matter of time before Kohli does so. He only needs three more hundreds to pass Tendulkar and become the first player to score 50 ODI centuries.

Kohli is second only to Tendulkar on the list of batters with the most international hundreds, with 77 across forms.

Kohli is not far behind in terms of runs. He has already joined the top five with 25711 runs, and odds are he will overtake Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardena (25957 runs) for fourth place in the 2017 ODI World Cup. However, beating Tendulkar, who finished with 34357 runs, would be difficult.

But, once runs, centuries, averages, and every other batting characteristic are removed from the equation, do Kohli and Tendulkar share anything? Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes so. He stated that Kohli and Tendulkar both enjoy playing cricket in a way that few others do.

"The one thing Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have in common is that they both enjoy playing cricket." They want to play football. He was not in the team for the game against Bangladesh, but he was on the field anyhow. "I don't think Virat Kohli wants power or leadership," he told journalist Vimal Kumar.

Manjrekar was referring to Kohli's participation in the Asia Cup Super 4 match against Bangladesh in 2023. He was given a rest from that game because India had already qualified, but the soon-to-be 35-year-old was seen dashing onto the field with drinks and towels, leaving no time to come out as a substitute fielder and so on.

"He just wants to play, and he appears to enjoy being a part of the team." He guided the team for a long period, so there is no room for unfulfilled dreams. Being with the team, travelling with the players, getting to the pitch and being a part of winning moments are more important to him than power," Manjrekar explained.

'It will be extremely difficult for Kohli to achieve 51 Test hundreds.'

However, the former India batsman believes it will be difficult for Kohli to surpass Tendulkar in Test cricket. Kohli presently has 29 Test hundreds, while Tendulkar holds the record with 51.

"Sachin Tendulkar finished with 51 hundreds, 17 more than Sunil Gavaskar." Accumulating runs in ODIs is relatively easy for a skilled player because bowlers do not always aim to take a wicket.

Tendulkar and Kohli are unique in that they both have numerous Test hundreds. However, I believe Kohli will struggle to reach 51 Test centuries."