New Delhi: That Virat Kohli is destined to be among the pantheons of all-time greats is an oft-repeated assertion but for former Australia captain Michael Clarke, the India skipper is already the “greatest ODI batsman to have ever played the game”. Kohli, the world’s no.1 Test and ODI batsman, led India through a historic tour of Australia, during which the team won the Test and ODI rubbers and drew the T20 International series. Kohli’s India was the first team ever not to lose any series Down Under and along the way, he continued to add to his rapidly-rising count of international hundreds.
“To me, Virat Kohli is the greatest batsman to have ever played one-day cricket. I have no doubts after seeing what he has achieved for India,” Clarke, himself a former World Cup-winning captain, said in an interview. Kohli has already scored 10,385 runs in 219 ODIs with an astounding average of 59 plus, including 39 hundreds. An unabashed Kohli fan, Clarke said that the 30-year-old Indian’s passion is unmatchable. “You have to respect Virat’s passion to win games for his country. Yes, he has aggression but no one can question his commitment, how much he has achieved. He is the greatest in ODIs,” Clarke said.
