Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has insisted Virat Kohli has taken modern-day cricket to the "next level" but insisted he wouldn't compare the India captain with batting great Sachin Tendulkar.
Ganguly was left awestruck by Kohli's dominant knock against the West Indies in the second of the ongoing five-match ODI series against the West Indies as he conceded he was lost for words to describe the skipper's 37th ODI ton.
Kohli smashed Tendulkar's long-held record on Wednesday in Visakhapatnam as he became the fastest to reach 10,000 ODI runs, taking 205 innings, 54 fewer than his idol to achieve the major landmark.
With his seemingly unquenchable hunger, Kohli has drawn comparisons with Tendulkar, who finished his ODI career with 18,426 runs, including 49 centuries.
The 29-year-old Delhi batsman is not far behind as he has already hit 37 tons and going by his remarkable consistency, the Master Blaster's limited-overs records are certainly not safe.
Despite the different eras in which the two players have played, it's hard not to put Kohli on the same league with Tendulkar, according to Ganguly.
"I have closely seen Sachin Tendulkar play and he has scored 49 ODI hundreds and 100 tons overall but this man is no less than anybody," Ganguly told India TV after Kohli's record-breaking feat.
"Kohli has now scored 37 ODI hundreds and he is not too far behind Tendulkar's record. It is important to see that Kohli can play in all conditions and to change the game in all conditions. He carries the entire team on his shoulders.
"He [Kohli] is a master. There's no doubt now that Kohli is on par with Sachin Tendulkar in ODI cricket. I will not compare Kohli with Tendulkar... both are very big players.
"However, Kohli has certainly taken this generation of cricket to a different level. His consistency and intensity is remarkable. There's no stopping him. Whenever he comes onto the field, it feels as if it's his first time."
Kohli has been an embodiment of confidence and consistency in the recent past. It's hard to believe he has taken only 11 innings to go from 9,000 to 10,000 runs in ODI cricket.
Ever since making his international debut, Kohli has scored 20.2% of India's total runs in the said period. His average reads 59.62, next only to Netherlands Ryan ten Doeschate who has scored at 67.00 but from only 33 matches.
Kohli has been in imperious form in the ongoing year as well, amassing 1046 runs in 11 matches at an average of 149.42. The skipper had hit three centuries on India's tour of South Africa and has followed it up with two in as many matches in the ongoing series.
