Virat Kohli considered No. 1 because he bats exactly like Viv Richards: Sunil Gavaskar

Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has drawn similarities between Virat Kohli and Viv Richards, saying that the current Indian skipper’s batting is very similar to that of the West Indies legend.

Virat Kohli is the only batsman in the world who averages over 50 in all three formats of the game. Viv Richards meanwhile, is considered to be one of the greatest batsmen ever to play the sport.

Talking abut the similarities between the two, Gavaskar said Kohli is the best batsman in the world because of his shot-making ability.

“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,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports’ show ‘Winning the Cup — 1983’.

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.

“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. His record in all three forms is quite unbelievable, particularly his record in the shorter forms,” Chappell said on ‘The RK Show’, which is hosted by Radhakrishnan Sreenivasan on YouTube.

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

“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,” said Chappell.