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'Kohli Created His Own Legacy Like Tendulkar…' Ex-RCB Star’s Big Praise For India Legend

Aakash Saini

Virat Kohli [Source: @BCCI/x]Virat Kohli [Source: @BCCI/x]

Virat Kohli confirmed his retirement from Test cricket on May 12 after days of speculation, and amidst the ongoing IPL 2025 season. As one can expect, his retirement sparked a wave of tributes from across the cricketing fraternity, with fans, cricket experts as well as past and present teammates alike expressing their admirations for the legendary Indian batter.

South African great Mark Boucher, who played an influential role in shaping Kohli’s career back during the formative years of IPL, also heaped a significant praise on his past teammate.

Mark Boucher compares Kohli with Tendulkar

In an exclusive interview with the Times of India, Mark Boucher recalled some of his earlier conversations with Virat Kohli from during their time together at the RCB franchise. Boucher stated that he told Kohli that the latter would likely go on to play 20 years of IPL cricket.

Moreover, the legendary South African wicketkeeper-batter also told Kohli that he has the potential to become the “next Sachin Tendulkar”. Boucher admitted that even he did not expected Virat to go so far beyond his expectations in creating a legacy of his own. He said:

“I actually remember the conversation that we had, and it went along the lines of, I just said, ‘Virat, you’re very talented and you’re very young.’ You’ve got the IPL ahead of you now. You’re probably going to play close to 20 years of IPL cricket. Sachin Tendulkar started off at a very young age as well, and who’s to say that you couldn’t be the next Sachin Tendulkar?’ I didn’t know that he was going to take everything this far and sort of create his own legacy.”

Earlier this month, Virat Kohli named Mark Boucher as someone who made the biggest impact on him. The former Indian captain revealed that Boucher often helped him in assessing his weaknesses with detailed conversations.

Nonetheless, Virat Kohli will soon be seen reprising his role for the RCB franchise as IPL 2025 preps itself for resumption.