“I put Virat Kohli at number one over Sachin Tendulkar” - Former England cricketer makes a stunning statement

Former England cricketer and commentator Steve Harmison has rated Virat Kohli as the greatest cricketer of the last three decades, ahead of legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar. Notably, Kohli is set to make his international comeback in the three-match ODI series against Australia Down Under, starting on October 19.

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Speaking exclusively on talkSPORT cricket, Harmison asserted that Kohli had comparatively faced more challenges on and off the field when compared to a player like Tendulkar. For the unversed, Kohli went past Sachin’s tally of 49 ODI centuries, and he currently has 51 centuries. 

"I put Virat Kohli at number one over Sachin Tendulkar, and that would raise a lot of eyebrows. But I thought his career, and what he had to do in his career, was I thought the way the game changed over the course of this last ten years, Virat's had to have deal with a hell of a lot more off the field stuff that would affect him on the field. I think for me, in the last 20-30 years, the greatest cricketer that has played the game, you take Shane Warne out, because he had come a lot before, I think it's Virat Kohli," Harmison said on talkSPORT Cricket.

Moreover, Harmison felt that both Kohli and Rohit didn’t get enough time to play domestic cricket. Notably, Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector, reportedly wanted the veteran batting duo to take part in domestic cricket to be available for the team selection.

"We've got to remember, these guys haven't played since 2013 and 2018 respectively, because they have been playing non-stop India. The amount of cricket they play, you look at Virat's career numbers, he made his debut in 2008-2009. The reason why they haven't played since then is that they have been constantly on the road with India," he said.

"If Agarkar's looking for a fight, he might get one but he's not going to win unfortunately. This is not going the distance. This could be a heavy knock out in the first round if he tries to go in especially without Virat," he concluded.

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