South Africa great AB de Villiers has clarified his recent comments comparing Virat Kohli with Sachin Tendulkar after his assessment of the two Indian batting legends triggered a backlash on social media.De Villiers had previously said Kohli was better than Tendulkar in seam-friendly overseas conditions, while crediting the former India opener with being the first Indian batter to show that players from the subcontinent could succeed consistently in challenging conditions outside Asia.The former South Africa captain’s comments attracted criticism, prompting him to explain what he meant.“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. 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,” de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.De Villiers acknowledged that Kohli’s overseas numbers do not match Tendulkar’s, but insisted that statistics alone do not determine how he assesses a batter.“We can always look at stats and say Virat’s stats were not as good abroad, especially because of England, where he really struggled. But I still feel he looked confident and played the all-round, well-balanced cricket that’s needed to succeed abroad and inspired a lot of youngsters around him. 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. And that’s what I meant with showing the new generation of cricketers how the way forward should look. Staying fit, leading by example, having the all-round game,” de Villiers concluded.His original assessment had centred on how Kohli built on Tendulkar’s pioneering work.“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. But Sachin was the first guy to show that, as a subcontinent batter, you can do well in bouncy and seaming conditions. Virat took that forward and raised the bar. Because of that, there are quite a few players now like Rahul and Padikkal, who have started to up that trend and follow in the footsteps of a Virat and a Sachin,” de Villiers had stated earlier.The statistical comparison, however, strongly favours Tendulkar in overseas Tests.Tendulkar remains the leading run-scorer in Test history, having accumulated 15,921 runs in 200 matches before retiring in 2013. Kohli retired from Test cricket in May 2025 after scoring 9,230 runs in 123 Tests, leaving him 19th on the all-time list.Tendulkar scored 8,705 of his Test runs away from home, accounting for around 55% of his career tally. He is also the highest run-scorer in overseas Test cricket. Kohli, meanwhile, made 4,774 runs in 66 Tests outside India.The difference remains significant when the comparison is restricted to SENA nations. Tendulkar scored 5,387 runs in 63 Tests in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia at an average of 51.30, including 17 centuries and 23 fifties.Kohli finished with 3,661 runs in 46 Tests across the same countries at an average of 42.08, with 12 centuries and 14 fifties.De Villiers’ clarification therefore sought to put his original comments into context, with the South African stressing that his assessment was based not merely on numbers but on Kohli’s approach, adaptability, fitness and influence on the generation that followed him.
