Virat Kohli bats exactly like Viv Richards – Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar reckons Virat Kohli bats exactly like former legendary West Indies batsman Viv Richards. Gavaskar recalled that it was difficult to keep Richards at bay during his halcyon days and it is similar with the Indian captain, Virat Kohli. The Little Master feels Kohli can hit two different kind of shots of the same ball using his bottom and upper hand.

Virat Kohli is known to play conventional shots and he never tries anything out of the box, even when he is batting in the nets. Kohli believes in taking more singles and finding the gaps, to score his runs. Furthermore, the talisman hardly hits the ball in the air, which makes him harder to dismiss.

Moreover, Kohli scores his runs at a healthy strike rate, which makes him one of the most dangerous batsmen of the current era. The linchpin has been ticking the right boxes and he is the most consistent batsman of the modern-day. Kohli also has an average of more than 50 in all the forms of the game and he is the only International batsman to do so.

On the other hand, Sir Viv Richards was well known for his attacking game. Richards always loved taking the attack on the opposition and always had great confidence in his abilities.

Sunil Gavaskar recalled that earlier Gundappa Vishwanath and VVS Laxman used to bat in a similar fashion with Virat Kohli

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

“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.”

Virat Kohli has done a fine job for the Indian team and he has been instrumental in the success of the team over the years. Earlier, former Australian captain Ian Chappell also likened Virat Kohli with Viv Richards.

Kohli has also paid special attention to his fitness and it has helped him in reaping rewards in all the three forms of the game.