As of today, India captain Virat Kohli is the best batsman in the world in the limited overs formats. And what makes him the best?
Following an extraordinary 2018, the 30-year-old became the first player in history to win all three of top awards – Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year, the ICC Men’s Test Player of the Year and the ICC ODI Player of the Year awards.
The right-handed batsman continues his peerless form in the new year by adding two more ODI centuries during the home series against Australia, which India lost 3-2. Despite the reverse in team fortunes, Kohli continues to make giant strides, earning plaudits from pundits, legends and rivals. And the latest is his great contemporary and one of the finest stroke-makers the game has ever seen – AB de Villiers.
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According to the South African, who has seen the Indian from close quarters, Kohli's "personality and mental strength" makes him the best ODI player at the moment.
De Villiers, who has retired from international cricket, will be seen batting alongside India and RCB skipper Kohli in the IPL beginning March 23.
"Virat’s performances over the last while have been incredible and I can’t see it stopping very soon. I have played with him for eight years now in the IPL and you can never take the class out of the guy," de Villiers told sport24.
"However, he is human after all and, like any other cricketer, he will go through patches from time to time where he has to go back to the basics and work his way through it again. I believe it’s his personality and mental strength that gets him through those moments and makes him the best ODI player in the world at the moment."
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The 35-year-old sees a lot of similarities between himself and Kohli.
"We are both fighters and don’t enjoy losing, we love batting together and taking the game away from teams."
Talking about the World Cup in May-July, de Villiers picked India and England among the favourites.
"The Proteas are certainly in the running, but I won’t say they are the favourites to be honest with you. India and England are looking strong, Australia have won five World Cups in the past and Pakistan claimed the Champions Trophy in the UK two years ago.
"Those four teams are probably the favourites, but the way the Proteas have been playing in the 50-over format of late has been encouraging," he added.
Before the ODI World Cup in the United Kingdom, Kohli will lead Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2019 season of Indian Premier League, which starts on March 23.
In the opening match, RCB will take on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings.
(With PTI inputs)
