Australian legend Greg Chappell is being slammed online after he compared India talisman Virat Kohli's phenomenal innings against Pakistan to a “song of God” in an article he wrote for a media outlet.

Many Indians consider Greg Chappell as one of those guys who was planning to destroy Indian cricket during his reign as the national side's coach in the 2000s.

To date, a section of Indians believe that he had a major role in Sourav Ganguly‘s sacking as India's captain during that period, many netizens took to Twitter to call out his praise of Virat Kohli as “fake”.

A few even pointed out that Virat Kohli was lucky not to play under Greg Chappell, otherwise, he would have ended his career as well as he tried to do with Sourav Ganguly.

https://twitter.com/Cricket_45_45/status/1586270116328931329

 

Greg Chappell's words of appreciation for Virat Kohli came after the India talisman played arguably the greatest T20 knock against Pakistan to secure his side's 4-wicket victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) last weekend.

Calling Virat Kohli, the greatest Indian batter of his time, Greg Chappell termed his unbeaten 82 off 53 balls against Pakistan as an innings that legitimized T20 cricket.

“The Bhagavad Gita is the holy book which is the synthesis of Hinduism. Literally translated, it means “the song by God”. Kohli played an innings that was as close to a ‘song by god' as has ever been played in T20 cricket,” Greg Chappell wrote in his column for the Australian newspaper “Sydney Morning Herald”.

“Like a cat playing with a new skein of wool, Kohli teased then expertly picked apart an excellent Pakistan bowling attack until it lay unravelled, spent and exposed on the green carpet of the MCG.” “….It was an innings that showcased the art of batting like no other that I have seen in a lifetime of watching cricket,” former Team India coach added.

“Ironically, it was also the innings that legitimised T20 cricket as, dare I say it, an art form, more than any that I have seen in the past 15 years. Nobody can dismiss T20 cricket as simply entertainment ever again,” Greg Chappell noted.

“None of the greats of bygone eras could have dismembered of an opponent so brutally without compromising the niceties of the art of batting than Kohli did last Sunday night,” he further said.

“Kohli is the most complete Indian batsman of my time. Only the greatest of champions has the courage and the intelligence to transport their imagination beyond the mortal plane. Kohli has that. Perhaps only Tiger Pataudi has come close to transcending a similar stratosphere,” Greg Chappell explained.

Greg Chappell even put forward the example of the legendary Adam Gilchrist to state that Virat Kohli's batting against Pakistan was even more enjoyable than the left-hander's heroics in the past.

“I can think of many of the best hitters in the modern game who could have pulled off a similar victory, and probably have, but none has ever done it with pure batting skills in the manner that Kohli did against Pakistan,” he said.

“Only Adam Gilchrist has come close in the past, but this was even more esoteric than some of his most sublime efforts. It was simply impossible to look away. It gave me immense pleasure as it was played by one of the staunchest supporters and exponents of Test cricket of the past 145 years,” the Australian great illustrated.

“This was the day that T20 cricket came to maturity, and the nail biting game was played between two of the younger nations of the long form of the game in front of 90,000 rapturous fans, most of whom were thousands of miles from the land of their birth,” Greg Chappell mentioned.

“We have known for some time that Kohli is in a rare class, but this was done against the backdrop of a pretty lean run during the last few years by his lofty standards. Not many are going to have to go through it in the glare Virat has. Everyone has had an opinion; most of it has been centred on his eyes and/or his technique as having waned in some way. As someone who has been down that track, I was pretty sure this wasn't the case,” he commented.

“It is likely the best T20 innings of his career, and it may also be one of the most satisfying in any format. He looked completely at home. He was in his element,” Greg Chappell concluded.

Virat Kohli is yet to be dismissed in this edition of the T20 World Cup. He followed his majestic 82 not out with yet another half-century against the Netherlands on Thursday, playing a key role in India's second successive win in the competition.

He will be back in action this Sunday when India will take on South Africa in their third fixture of the prestigious tournament at Perth's Optus Stadium.