The unstoppable passage of time.

 "It is impossible for you to even become our equal, much less surpass us. That fierce age of ours already belong in the annals of legend. No matter how large a storm you kick up, the only thing that will be thrown your way are 'what ifs'. 'What if those legendary figures of the old still existed in this generation?' Our legend will forever be protected by the passage of time."

                                                     -Renpa, a great general and a member of the three great heavens of Zhao 

The cricket World Cup comes to a close with India suffering a disappointing loss in the finals. I was surprised at how little I cared. I didn't watch a single match, not even the finals. When did I stop caring I wonder? I still vividly remember running down the street yelling 'Afridi gone' on 30th of March, 2011 when India faced Pakistan in the semis. The day before the Environmental Education exam which believe it or not was a pain the ass. Was it when Sachin retired? Perhaps. It's natural to lose some interest after your favourite player retires but I still liked the sport and watched it every now and then. With time my interest gradually faded and watching an IPL match at the stadium earlier this year was the nail in the coffin. That's a story for another day. 

Despite my complete lack of interest, there was one thing which caught my attention. The debate surrounding Kohli and Sachin. I saw multiple posts about Kohli having surpassed Sachin which is not surprising.  He is one of the greatest batsmen of his generation and he did break one of Sachin's records which was deemed almost impossible a few years ago. He has been the most consistent player of his generation and across all formats. But it is not enough to claim the throne of the King, nay God. 

To be fair to Kohli, he's done everything he could. There are a lot of things which are simply out of his control. The evolution of the game over the years has made it considerably easier for batsmen. From flat batting pitches to shorter boundaries to the introduction of Powerplays, it is much easier to score runs than it used to be. Stats prove my point. The average score batting first during 1995 to 2007 is 256 while it is 280 during 2008-2017. Forget stats, how often do we see 300 plus scores being chased down with ease these days? Anything around 250 isn't even close to being good enough in present day while it was a winning score in the 90s and early 00s. 

And then comes the quality of bowling Sachin faced. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Imran Khan, Shane Warne, Muralidharan, Glenn Mcgrath, Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, Courtney Walsh, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shane Bond, Curtly Ambrose, Shaun Pollock, Alan Donald, Makhaya Ntini to name a few off the top of my head. Could Kohli have done it against these great bowlers on slow pitches without any Powerplays while having only 1 new ball which reverse swings when it gets older? What if Kohli played in that generation? What if the pitches weren't as flat and outfield wasn't as fast as it is today? What if there was reverse swing? It is a rather unfair comparison but these questions will always exist. 

The sheer impact which Sachin has had on Indian cricket makes it impossible for anyone to surpass him. Those who have followed Indian cricket in the nineties will know just how dependent the team was on Sachin. He was the lone warrior. He was the reason many people watched the sport. There's a reason phrases like 'Switch off the TV, Sachin is out' were so common. Every team knew that half the job was done if they got Sachin out. From the infamous batting collapse against Sri Lanka in 1996 World Cup semis at Eden Garden to the desert storm in Sharjah 1999, there are numerous examples of the team's over dependence on Sachin. You can talk about how consistent Kohli has been but Sachin was just as consistent if not more and all the while playing with a team notoriously unpopular with the fans. He weathered that period until the likes of Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman, Kumble and the other greats arrived. Cricket would never have been as popular as it is today without him. It is a stark contrast to what Kohli had to face. He is playing in one of the best eras of Indian cricket. The support for the players has never been higher. He couldn't have entered the team at a better time. He is part of an incredibly strong team. What happens if he's surrounded by mediocrity? One need look no further than RCB to know the answer. 

Despite everything Kohli has achieved, Sachin still has pretty much every other record from highest number of international centuries to the most runs scored in both formats. Kohli broke just one of the many records. I would like to stress once again that it is a rather unfair comparison but if you are to make the comparison Sachin will always be my pick for the greatest batsmen of all time. His status is forever immortalized by the unstoppable passage of time.