The Indian batting legend, Sunil Gavaskar has drawn similarities between the current Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, and Sir Viv Richards, saying that the former’s batting is very similar to that of the West Indies legend. Virat is the only batsman in the world who averages over 50 in all three formats of the game. Meanwhile, Richards is considered to be one of the greatest batsmen ever to play the sport.

Talking about the similarities between the two, Gavaskar said Virat’s shot-making ability makes him the best batsman in the world.

Describing the same during a show in Star Sports, SunilGavaskar said, “It was very difficult to keep Viv Richards quiet when he was at the crease. Similarly, if you look at Virat Kohli’s batting today, in the same ball and same line, he will use his top hand and score a boundary towards the extra cover region and will use the bottom hand and score a boundary towards the mid-on and mid-wicket region. That’s why Virat Kohli is considered as the No. 1 player because he bats exactly like Viv Richards. Earlier, Gundappa Vishwanath, VVS Laxman used to bat like this.”

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Interestingly, former Australia captain Ian Chappell had also compared Kohli’s batting with that of Richards last month and called the Indian the best all-format batsman in the current generation.

Earlier during a chat with Radhakrishnan Sreenivasan on YouTube, Chappell had said, “The best short-form player in the time I played was Viv Richards, and he just played normal cricket shots but he placed the ball so well he was able to score at a very fast rate. And Kohli’s the same. He plays traditional cricket shots, and he plays them really well. Of that group (including Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root), Kohli is the best in all three forms. That’s unquestionable.”

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Chappell said Kohli’s fitness also makes him stand apart from his contemporaries.

Ian Chappel had said, “The other thing that stands out about Kohli is his fitness and running between the wickets. The way he pushes himself, he’s incredibly fit. Some of his performances are quite amazing.”