Sachin Tendulkar vs Virat Kohli – who’s the best? The debate has been taking place quite a long time now. Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has thrown his hat in the discussion and has backed the Master Blaster between the two. He said that it would be unfair to compare, especially when Kohli is at the peak of his career!

The debate, is Virat Kohli a better batsman than Sachin Tendulkar has become the talk of the town in recent years. Speaking on the comparison between the two, Ricky Ponting said, “Comparisons are always hard to make. At this stage of Virat Kohli’s career, let’s wait and see and see if he can play 200 Test matches and let’s see how well he’s playing at the end of 200 Test matches.”

Seeing the records that Virat Kohli is breaking now and then, it is hard to resist to compare the two. However, Ponting tried his best while differentiating the two. Ponting said, “You’ll remember Sachin when he was finishing up. No one remembers Sachin at his absolute best, when he was in the mid-20s or early 30s. Everyone remembers him when he finished, and he probably wasn’t the player when he finished as he was in the middle of his career.”

Talking about Virat Kohli’s batting prowess, the two-time World Cup winning Australian captain said, “Everyone’s seeing Virat now at the peak of his powers and doing some quite exceptional things.”

What makes a champion player then? Ricky Ponting said, “It is one thing to dominate an international sport for a short period. But if you can dominate your sport for 10-15 years, I think that’s the sign of a real champion player. Something Sachin was able to do that in three different formats.”

“Let’s see how Virat’s career goes, and by the time he’s finished, you can start comparing guys. But I think before that, it’s unfair on both,” said Ricky Ponting while signing off.

Watch Video: Who’s the best – Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli? Ricky Ponting Has a Say:

Sachin Tendulkar ended his spectacular career as the highest run getter in both ODI and Test formats. His records in the game are phenomenal. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, has been scaling those records at a quick pace.

Will Kohli be able to better those records and emerge as a better batsman than Sachin Tendulkar? Well, it is too early to call. The records and statistics do suggest that Kohli’s numbers are nearly the same as Sachin Tendulkar’s were – if not better. However, comparing the two greats from two different eras, is a bit unfair on both!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 25, 2018 10:03 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).