When Novak Djokovic won his 24th Grand Slam at the US Open in 2023, that terrific trio of tennis experts – Sania Mirza, Somdev Devvarman and Purav Raja – were unequivocal in pronouncing him the greatest of all time in any sport. Let alone dismissing the claims of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, they had no compunctions about leaving out greats in other sports, like Michael Phelps, Messi, Michael Jordan, and even the ultimate - Muhammad Ali. That's when I realised that, like beauty, the notion of sporting greatness lies in the eyes of the beholder; that assessment of renowned personalities is ever so subjective.

There are other dangers in making such sweeping judgements. Apart from one's own preferences, the differing playing conditions, the quality of the opposition, and advancements in technology across different eras make comparisons among greats a hazardous exercise. One also has to calibrate and grade the variables of the sport – including performance statistics, technical skills, leadership qualities, and so on. On top of it all, what has the sportsperson done to make the world a better place?

Fortified with these caveats, I feel emboldened to weigh in on a comparative study of two cricketing greats who are the sporting icons of India – Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Who is the better of the two?
For sheer run-making prowess, Tendulkar is unmatched – miles, nay thousands of runs ahead of Kohli and the rest. In 200 Tests, he scored 15,921 runs at an average of 53.38, with 51 centuries. Meanwhile, Kohli scored 9,230 runs in 123 tests at an average of 46.83, with 30 hundreds.

In 452 ODIs, Tendulkar accumulated 18,426 runs with 49 hundreds and an average of 44.83. By comparison, in 290 ODIs, Kohli scored 14,181 runs with 51 hundreds at an awesome average of 57.88, easily the more accomplished ODI performer. I have intentionally excluded T20 cricket stats from this analysis as the shortest form of the game is, as the legendary Michal Holding observed, a mere cartoon version of the real deal.

As bare statistics don't tell the whole truth, a bit of nuance is imperative to the debate. Going by total runs scored in Tests, Sachin is the greatest ever batsman who has lived. Still, when you consider his career average of 53.4 compared with Bradman's average of 99.4 and, more recently, his peer - Kumar Sangakkara's career average of 57.58, there's good reason to pause before assigning his rightful place in the pantheon of greats!

Coming to the Tendulkar-Kohli contest, my utter admiration for Kohli was sparked by his pyrotechnics in the first Test against Australia in Adelaide in 2014. The formidable Aussies held all the cards, declaring in both innings and setting India the impossible target of scoring 361 runs on the final day.

Kohli, following up on his first innings century, single-handedly took India to the brink of victory with a sublime 141 runs of silken grace and power, but the collapse of the last seven wickets for 58 runs resulted in India losing by 45 runs. No Indian before or since has played such a masterful, dominant inning abroad. It was as great an innings as Brian Lara's immortal 153 not out against Australia in 1999, but it is unremembered, as history cares little for losing teams.

How have Tendulkar and Kohli's individual brilliance impacted their teams? While my method of evaluation, based on centuries scored in team wins, is admittedly simplistic, it is nevertheless a pointer. Of Tendulkar's 51 Test centuries, 20 resulted in the team winning – a win percentage of 21.56. Six of these victories were against minnows - Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. In ODIs, 33 of his 49 centuries spurred his team to victory – a 67.35 win percentage.

In contrast, 14 of Kohli's 30 Test centuries helped fashion the team's success – a win percentage of 46.6. In ODIs, 43 of the 51 centuries scored by the undisputed 'Chase King' ensured his team's victory – a phenomenal 84.31 win percentage.

What's noteworthy is that while Sachin is ahead in run accumulation, Virat has won many more games for India. This is clearly because they have approached the game differently – Tendulkar was focused on personal milestones, whereas Kohli's single intent has been on winning games for India. Who can forget Sachin's ignominious crawl as he neared his landmark hundredth century in international cricket, because of which we lost that ODI match to Bangladesh at Mirpur in 2012!

In a team sport like cricket, greatness is measured not only by individual excellence but also by other factors, such as leadership, that are integral to the success of a team. Tendulkar was an absolute disaster as Test and ODI captain, with a 16% win average in 25 Tests and 31.5% in ODIs.

In contrast, Kohli has been India's most successful Test and ODI captain. In Tests, India won 40 of the 68 Tests that he captained, a 58.8% win average, which is also the fourth-highest of all Test captains in history. He has won 65 out of 95 ODIs as captain - a 68.42 win average. And not to forget, in 2018-19, he broke the seemingly impregnable glass ceiling when he led his team to a series win against Australia in Australia for the first time, as momentous a feat as India's maiden triumphs in the West Indies and England in 1971.

Greg Chappell has rightly hailed Kohli as the most transformative figure in Indian cricket "in terms of cultural influence and psychological impact on India's cricket identity." He forged a new cricketing ethos, galvanising a hitherto self-effacing and submissive team through his example to stand up to bullies and give as good as one gets. His infectious enthusiasm, positive thinking, commitment and transparent honesty inspired his teammates to surpass themselves.

Kohli has swag and is combative and abrasive as hell but with a strong moral core. He respects the game and his opponents, even taking up cudgels on their behalf when he felt they were being treated unfairly. During the 2019 World Cup, when Steve Smith, fresh from serving a ban for Sandgate, was being mercilessly booed by the crowd, Kohli urged them to applaud him instead. And they did!

Such generosity of spirit is beyond Sachin's ken, whose self-serving concerns lay elsewhere. I'll spare you the gory details, but allow me to quote Mike Brearley, who slotted these two superstars perfectly regarding their contribution to Indian cricket and society. According to this cerebral cricketer-cum-psychoanalyst, Sachin represented "a commercially booming India," whereas Kohli stands for "an India that aims at greatness in all spheres." No one could have said it better!

Kohli has not only been a great leader on the field but also off it. He mobilises his privileged position as an opinion-maker to advance the cause of social justice, bucking the trend of celebrities staying silent when they need to speak out. Kohli's sterling defence of his beleaguered teammate, Mohammed Shami, following India's dismal performance in the 2021 T20 World Cup, puts him in the Muhammad Ali league for sheer courage and humaneness.

Particularly significant was his frontal assault on the present rulers and their iniquitous hounding of Muslims. To quote the great man's thunderous condemnation of the perverse Hindutva ideology: "To me, attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing that a human being can do." He lost the Test captaincy for exposing the rot in our society.

What a contrast from the God of Cricket's only intervention on a raging public issue of social justice. At the height of the farmers' agitation against the farm bills in 2021, in response to tweets by Rihanna and Greta Thunberg supporting the farmers, Tendulkar played the role of a lickspittle to the government, calling on all Indians to "resist any threat to the nation's sovereignty by external forces."

When history is written, it'll be about Kohli's greatness as a human being and cricketer, whereas Sachin will figure as the great run accumulator.