Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has been lavish in his praise for star batter Virat Kohli, citing supreme longevity and versatility across all formats of the game, while saying his comparisons with other legends across generations don’t hold. Shastri was very close to Kohli during his stint as coach when the latter was at the pinnacle of his career as captain, stating that to compare any two players of different generations is always a difficult proposition. He did, however, cite how Kohli has shown great consistency and adaptability for the past ten years to a level that very few players have matched.

While speaking on ICC Review, Ravi Shastri said, “You cannot compare players of different eras. But if someone can stay at the top of the sport for so long, then it shows his versatility, his ability to adapt, and his skill set. Not many can do that, but he has shown why he is different.”

Virat Kohli recently won the Player of the Match award in the T20 World Cup final with a blistering 76-run knockoff 59 balls. After the match, he announced his retirement from T20I, and with that, one of the glittering chapters of his career came to a close.

WATCH – Kieron Pollard’s Six Nearly Hits Kumar Sangakkara In Commentary Box

Ravi Shastri says there has never been any doubt in his mind that Kohli’s name should be bracketed alongside some of the very best the game has ever produced. “While other cricketing contemporaries like Joe Root and Steve Smith have excelled in particular formats and Rohit Sharma in white-ball cricket, Virat Kohli has been streets ahead of everyone else across all formats for such a long period,” he said.

“I think he is one of the greats of the game. He dominated that decade across all formats. When you look at one player who was at the top in all three formats for ten years, it had to be Virat Kohli. You would get Joe Root in one format, Steve Smith in one format, Rohit Sharma in one format. But this guy was in the top three across all formats,” Ravi Shastri stated during the interaction.

ALSO READ: Washington Sundar Aims To Restrict Sri Lanka Below 200 in Series-Decider

Part of Virat Kohli’s distinguished career is the unique achievement of winning two Player of the Tournament awards in T20 World Cup history, proving his prowess and consistency. He also won the Player of the Tournament award in the 2023 ODI World Cup, which further established his position as one of the most versatile and successful cricketers of his time.