Virat Kohli is phenomenal but there can only be one Sachin Tendulkar: Michael Kasprowicz

New Delhi, Oct 6: Former Australia pacer Michael Kasprowicz feels India captain and batting mainstay Virat Kohli is a phenomenal batsman but there can be only one Sachin Tendulkar.

When asked if Kohli is as good as Tendulkar, Kasprowicz, in an interaction with media persons, at an event organised by FICCI and Queensland government in New Delhi, said one cannot compare anyone to the Master Blaster.

"There can only be one Sachin Tendulkar though Virat has got a phenomenal record and he is leading the team pretty well. But you cannot compare anyone to Sachin," said Kasprowicz, who is working with Cricket Australia.

It has been almost 20 years since he and his team were blown away by the "desert storm" in Sharjah where Tendulkar singlehandedly led India to the title with a famous win over Australia.

"When was it? 19 years ago I think. Sachin played like dream," he recalled.

Talking about Australia's performance in the recently concluded ODI series against India, the former Aussie quick reckoned it was the middle-order that let the Australians down but it won't be an issue in the T20I series as the visitors have enough batting firepower in the shortest format.

"There isn't a lot of time for the middle-order in the T20s. You are relying on your key batsmen. And I think that is what Australia have in David Warner, Steven Smith, Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, who all have got plenty of IPL experience," Kasprowicz told PTI at an event organised by FICCI and Queensland government here last night.

The 45-year-old said there is no major problem plaguing the Australian team which lost the ODI series 1-4, extending their abysmal away run in the 50-over format.

"There is nothing wrong with them. It is just some young players are coming in and they need more time to settle at the international level.

"Look, 50 over format is all about adjusting your skills as per the conditions and Australia did not do that well enough," said Kasprowicz, who now works for Cricket Australia.

Asked if the same Indian team can beat Australia away from home, he said: "It is always a challenge when you play away from home. So it would be a challenge for India to play on bouncier tracks. Having said that, they are a pretty hot team at the moment, aren't they?"

Kasprowicz, who played 38 Tests and 43 ODIs for Australia, switched to academics post-retirement and acquired an MBA degree.

He was part of two Test tours to India including the one in 2004 when Australia beat the hosts 2-1. Australia have not won Test series in India since then.

"It is always a challenge playing in India. You got to make the adjustment pretty quickly. There are not a lot of warm-up games these days so you got to make the most of them," said the Queenslander.

Kasprowicz was also asked what he found tougher between playing cricket and becoming an MBA graduate.

"Well, let me just say that doing MBA was nearly as tough as bowling 25 overs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)