Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison has turned up the heat of the hottest debates: Virat Kohli or Sachin Tendulkar. Harmison named Virat Kohli as the greatest cricketer of all three decades.

Steve Harmison has praised Virat Kohli’s form under pressure, adapting to the games and maintaining consistency in the evolving eras of cricket. “I put Virat Kohli at No. 1 over Sachin Tendulkar, and that would raise a lot of eyebrows. But I thought his career, and what he had to do in his career, I thought the way the game changed over the course of these. Last ten years, Virat’s had to deal with a hell of a lot more off the field stuff that would affect him on the field. I think for me, in the last 20–30 years, the greatest cricketer that has played the game, you take Shane Warne out, because he had come a lot before, I think it’s Virat Kohli,” Harmison said on talksPORT Cricket.

Virat Kohli will now play in the upcoming ODI tour of Australia. He has achieved a commendable feat in the ODI World Cup 2023, winning the Player of the Tournament. He has amassed 14,181 runs in 290 matches and is the third-highest run scorer behind Sachin Tendulkar (18,426) and Kumar Sangakkara (14,234).

Harmison also spoke on Ajit Agarkar’s argument against senior players’ participation in the domestic cricket. “The guys have not played in domestic cricket since 2013 and 2018, because they’ve been non-stop for India” He said. “If Agarkar is looking for a fight, he might get one – but he’s not going to win. This could be a heavy knockout in the first round if he tries to go in, especially without Virat”

While Sachin Tendulkar has always been Kohli’s idol, this statement by Harmison adds fuel to the debate of the greatest.