Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen praised Virat Kohli on Day 4 of the ongoing Ashes opener at Edgbaston on Monday, June 19. The veteran called the former Indian captain an exceptional player of spin because of his stunning cricket shots, which makes him stand out. He said that after the legendary England batter learned that Kohli (109* Tests) has only been stumped once in his Test career so far as well. However, Kohli was stumped for the first time in his Test career during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy when Alex Carey did that off Todd Murphy.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Kevin Pietersen said: “He [Virat Kohli] is a wonderful player of spin, and you sort of understand it because they play spin off the back foot and have such beautiful wrists. You hardly ever see Virat running down, charging, and going all guns blazing, and he certainly doesn’t sweep, reverse sweep. I mean, you can watch him bat. Mentally, you can see him batting there, so you can sort of understand that.”

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However, Kevin Pietersen’s comments came after former England captain Joe Root (130 Tests) was stumped for the first time in his Test career by Alex Carey off Nathan Lyon on Day 4 after facing 6903 deliveries in Tests as well. Kumar Sangakkara, on the other hand, lauded Virat Kohli for playing risk-free cricket. The veteran also credited the Delhi-born batter for his ability to stand and deliver as well.

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“He [Kohli] is also a kind of IPL mode, isn’t it? A lot of these players are very happy step-hitting from the crease. So, they don’t allow bowlers to bowl on a length, so the old art of having to use your feet against spin is gone, or they don’t do it anymore. You drop down and work a single. No, just stay in the crease and hit it out of the park. That’s true,” he added.