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Former South African captain Graeme Smith's reply to a media query about India batter Virat Kohli left social media abuzz. It happened after he rated Virat Kohli above Sachin Tendulkar in white-ball cricket.
According to Graeme Smith, Virat Kohli's records in limited-overs cricket were mind-blowing, and he deserves to be called the greatest player of all time in ODIs and T20Is.
“Virat's career has been incredible. But I think when you dig into his one-day stats and record, it is mind-blowing. I think the quality that he has produced right through his international career, in my opinion, he exceeds Sachin,” Graeme Smith said in an interview with the news agency ANI.
“Virat is brilliant, particularly with chase. The way he controls chases. His ability to play a one-day game no matter what the situation is around him and he is a key figure along with Rohit Sharma at the top of the order in terms of managing pressure as the tournament goes on and how well they play with the bat and just a superstar,” the former South African skipper added.
“They have not found themselves under pressure at all, they have played such good cricket. India are always strong at home, but in a big event like the World Cup there is extra pressure, but it doesn't seem to be impacting them. The big players are performing with both bat and ball. The only blip they have is injury to Hardik Pandya on how to balance their side but playing an extra bowler has worked well for them. They have a very attacking batting lineup and a very attacking bowling lineup. At their best, they can demolish any opposition. As expected, they are a dominant opposition and a team to beat in the tournament,” Graeme Smith emphasized.
Virat Kohli is on the brink of breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries, which the legendary Sunil Gavaskar expects him to topple in the ongoing Cricket World Cup.
“I don't know about the 49th but I know about the record-breaking 50th. Kohli will slam his 50th ODI century against South Africa at the Eden Gardens and what better occasion than his birthday? It's a sight when you slam a ton there because the Kolkata crowd gives you a standing ovation, and cheers for you, the air is filled with whistles and claps. It is a moment to savor for every batter,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli's honest confession about lacking professionalism at one point in his career created a stir on social media. Speaking with Star Sports, the host broadcaster of the 2023 Cricket World Cup, Virat Kohli admitted that at the start of his career, he didn't expect to become a great cricketer as he lacked the professionalism to attain heights that legends reach in their illustrious careers.
“If we talk about cricket, I had never thought of achieving all, as in where my career is and how god has blessed me such a career span and performances. I had always dreamt I'd do this, but I had never thought thing would pan out this way exactly, nobody can plan these things, the way your journey is going, and the way things unfold in front of you. I hadn't thought that I'd score so many hundreds and so many runs in these 12 years,” Virat Kohli told Star Sports.
“My only focus was that I should perform well for the team, and win games for the team from difficult situations. For that I mad quite a few changes along the way regarding discipline and lifestyle. I always had the drive in me, but I lacked the professionalism. Now I have a single-minded focus on how I want to play the game, and after that the results I've achieved is from playing that way itself,” he explained.
“The game recognizes effort. Honestly, that's what I have learnt from my career. I've played cricket by giving my hundred percent on the field, and the blessings I have got from it have been given to me by god, and I had never thought things would have unfolded this way,” Virat Kohli underlined.
For the uninitiated, Virat Kohli got out without troubling the scorers in the 2023 Cricket World Cup fixture against England at the Ekana Stadium on Sunday.
Virat Kohli, among the top scorers in the current edition of the World Cup, failed to absorb the pressure and lost his wicket while trying to smash England pacer David Willey over the top.
His dismissal came after he could not open his account on the first eight deliveries of his knock and fell on the ninth after he attempted an aerial shot off David Willey.
It was Virat Kohli's 34th duck in international cricket, taking his tally at par with Sachin Tendulkar, to join the legendary cricketer on top of the list of Indians with the most zeros across formats.
In this context, England's Barmy Army took a dig at Virat Kohli, posting a picture of the Team India superstar, showing him as a duck.
But after Rohit Sharma and his boys defeated England and their three batters fell for naught, India's Bharat Army trolled them with a similar image.
In their response, the Bharat Army posted a snapshot of Ben Stokes, Joe Root, and Mark Wood, who lost their wickets for a zero during the match against India.
