Sachin Tendulkar best batsman I ever saw, Virat Kohli best among current lot, says Michael Clarke

Melbourne: Former Australian captain Michael Clarke feels Virat Kohli’s fetish for big hundreds is similar to the iconic Sachin Tendulkar, who was the “hardest to get out” with a technique which “didn’t have a weakness”. Clarke said he can’t recall a batsman as complete as Tendulkar during his playing days. “Probably technically the best batsman (Tendulkar) I ever saw. The hardest batsman to get out. I think Sachin, technically, didn’t have a weakness. Part of you hoped that he made a mistake,” Clarke told the ‘Big sports Breakfast’ radio show. [caption id=“attachment_3874161” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Michael Clarke. AFP[/caption] He then went on heap praise on Kohli, calling him the best batsman across all formats among the current lot. “I think right now the best batsman across all three formats. His one day and twenty-twenty records are phenomenal and he’s also found a way to dominate Test cricket. “What Kohli and Tendulkar have in common is they love making big hundreds,” he said. Tendulkar is the only cricketer to have played 200 Test matches and scored 100 international centuries. He smashed 51 centuries in Tests and 49 in ODIs and holds the record for most runs in both formats 15,921 runs in 200 Tests and 18,426 in 463 ODIs. He retired in 2013 after an emotional home Test series against the West Indies. Clarke scored 8643 runs in 115 Test matches and 28 hundreds to his name. In ODIs, he managed 7981 runs in 245 matches. The 39-year-old led Australia to the 2015 World Cup title.