Mohammad Yousuf reckons that Tendulkar is better than Kohli

Former Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf has gone on to state that Sachin Tendulkar is a much better batsman as compared to Virat Kohli. Yousuf had been privy to playing a few matches against the Indian cricketing legend in the past given the fact that their careers coincided at a time when both countries were playing against each other.

Known to be a batsman of class and elegance during his time with the central contract, the 42-year old went on to state that he was indeed a massive fan of the incumbent Indian skipper. However, given the timeline of both their careers, Yousuf believed that he would rate Tendulkar a tad higher due to the quality of the players in the 90s and those of today.

“I don’t want to take anything away from Kohli. He is an exceptional talent. But I rate Tendulkar much higher because of the era he played in, against the best teams, fast bowlers, and spinners,” Yousuf told PTI in an interview.

“Nowadays, the quality of players is not the same as it was said in the 90s and until 2011. After 2011 World Cup the quality has come down. Tendulkar was a world class player and this can be judged by the number of runs and hundreds he scored against strong opposition in all conditions and in all formats,” Yousuf said.

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Yousuf would go on to add that he had played against Tendulkar a lot of times and that he was nothing short of a masterclass. “I played a lot against Tendulkar and he was a masterclass and produced match winning knocks many times. I don’t think Kohli is facing the same quality bowlers or opposition.”

Finally, the former Pakistan batsman would go on to add a few words on the recently-concluded series against Australia, something that his former side has been struggling with. The series loss has seen a few probe into the matter, something that was not the case a couple of months back.

“It was the batting which let us down badly in all five Tests in both countries,” Yousuf said.

Finally, Yousuf went on to conclude that it was indeed time for Misbah-ul-Haq to delve into retirement and give the chance for another to shine in his place.

“It is time for him to go and it is time for a new mindset to come into Pakistan team in Tests and ODIs. We have become a very passive team constantly playing in the UAE. This has damaged our cricket badly and the PCB needs to organize home series anywhere but UAE.”