Sachin Tendulkar vs Virat Kohli: Jonty Rhodes warns fans not to compare players from different eras

New Delhi: South African legend Jonty Rhodes has advised fans not to compare Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, as both the cricketers are great in their own way.

Known as probably the greatest ever fielder in the history of cricket, Rhodes said it's wrong to compare between players from different eras. He was talking at a function in Chennai,

"I am not a great believer in records and I don't like to compare players from different eras. They are wonderful players. Both are great in their own way. Tendulkar is Tendulkar and Virat (Kohli) is Virat," he said.

Tendulkar, with 100 hundreds, is the gold standard of batting; but Kohli has been breaking batting records at a breakneck speed. At 28, he already has 45 hundreds.

But what set Tendulkar, besides his insanely abundant talent, was longevity and the ease with which he achieved those feats. And many wonder, including Rhodes, if Kohli would ever manage to play that long.

"Tendulkar started at the age of 16 and played till the age of nearly 40, for almost 24 years and set several benchmarks. I don't know if Kohli can play for such a long time, given the demands of a modern-day cricketer," Rhodes added.

But the South African was impressed with the amount of runs Kohli has scored in such a short span.

"Virat has started his career very well. His prolific run-scoring is incredible. He has made a lot of runs at a young age. Kohli must be just Kohli and should not be compared with Tendulkar."

Kohli is in Sri Lanka, leading Indian team in a three Tests, five ODIs and a lone T20I series. India have already won the Test series, having taken an unassailable 2-0 lead. The third and final Test will be played at Pallekele, starting Saturday.