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Former Indian cricket team head coach and prominent commentator Ravi Shastri has recently offered a heartfelt tribute to Virat Kohli, praising his remarkable consistency across all formats of the game.
Shastri lauded Kohli as one of cricket’s greatest players, highlighting his extraordinary performance and impact across all three formats over the past decade.
Ravi Shastri’s heartfelt tribute to Virat Kohli captures widespread attention
Ravi Shastri, the 1983 World Cup champion, has praised Virat Kohli for his exceptional performance across all formats of cricket. While players like Joe Root, Steve Smith, and Rohit Sharma have excelled in specific formats, Kohli has consistently showcased his prowess in ODIs, T20Is, and Tests over the past decade, setting him apart from his peers.
Shastri highlighted Kohli’s remarkable versatility and adaptability, noting that he has consistently ranked among the top cricketers in every format. This enduring excellence underscores Kohli’s status as one of the game’s greatest players.
Emphasizing that comparisons between players of different eras are futile, Shastri honored Kohli’s achievements by stressing that his continuous success and pursuit of milestones are a testament to his legendary status in cricket.
Virat has shown why he’s different: Shastri
Shastri also emphasized that Virat Kohli’s unique approach to the game has clearly set him apart from other legends. According to Shastri, Kohli’s distinctive impact on cricket makes comparisons with other greats unnecessary.
Ravi Shastri said on the ICC Review: “I think one of the greats of the game. He dominated that decade of cricket across formats of the game. When you look at one player who dominated all three formats of the game for a period of 10 years, it had to be Virat Kohli. I mean, you would get Joe Root in one format, you’d get Steve Smith in one format, and you’d get Rohit Sharma in one format.”
Shastri further noted, “But this guy was in the top two or three across all formats, be it the ODI or T20I cricket and, of course, Test cricket. So no, no, no bigger tribute; you don’t compare players of different eras. But if someone can stay on top of a sport for that long period of time at the top across formats, it just shows his versatility, his ability to adapt, and just shows his skill sets to be able to do that. Not many can, but he’s shown why he’s different.”
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Currently on the Sri Lanka tour with Team India for the three-match ODI series, Virat Kohli has posted scores of just 24 and 14 in the first two matches. As the team heads into the crucial final ODI in Colombo, Kohli will be eager to deliver a standout performance. With just 114 runs needed to become the fastest player to reach 14,000 ODI runs, a significant innings from Kohli could make history and cement his place among cricket’s greats.
