Published 08:51 IST, January 19th 2019
'I respect Virat but Sachin paaji can never be replaced', says Sreesanth as he joins the Kohli vs Tendulkar debate
Virat Kohli's sensational form in all the formats over the past four-five years has seen him getting compared to Sachin Tendulkar
Weeks after Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul, during their interaction on the TV show 'Koffee With Karan', weighed in on the Kohli vs Tendulkar debate, stating they preferred the Indian skipper over his predecessor, 2007 World T20 and 2011 World Cup winner Sreesanth has sided with the 'Little Master' on this argument, suggesting that no one can replace Sachin.
Kohli's sensational form over the past four-five years has seen him getting compared to Sachin. The Indian skipper's numbers are insane - he average in excess of 50 in all the formats - because of which some fans and critics feel he is much better than any player to have played the sport, even Sachin. But Sreesanth disagrees!
"Everybody calls him Sachin bhai but I address him (Sachin Tendulkar) as paaji for a reason. I respect Virat for whatever he has done but Sachin paaji can never be replaced or can never be compared to any other new or old cricketer. Sachin Tendulkar for the next 1000 generation will be someone who gave hope to the small cricketers like me never even thought that I could play club cricket," he said.
Only a few days back, Pandya and Rahul drew the ire of social media after they picked Kohli over Tendulkar as the better batsman. But that wasn't the only and the biggest controversy surrounding the duo from that very episode of Koffee With Karan.
Both Hardik and Rahul also made some sexual and misogynist remarks during their interaction, for which they received flak from across the board. Their comments resulted in suspension from cricket, which has also jeopardized their prospects of playing in the World Cup 2019. While a majority of people criticized the duo for their actions, Sreesanth was one of the very few to sympathize with them.
"I will only say that whatever happened was very bad, but the World Cup is around the corner. Both Hardik and Rahul are both good cricketers…I will only say to Hardik and Rahul, that surely they are both match-winners and sooner or later they will be back on the field. Yes, I know how difficult it is for a cricketer to miss the game and I just hope BCCI allows them to play, once they realise I am sure they should be playing where they should be playing," he told reporters earlier this week.
Updated 09:14 IST, January 19th 2019