'He bats exactly like Sir Viv' - Sunil Gavaskar draws similarities between Virat Kohli and Viv Richards

From an impulsive chubby teenager to a world-class athlete– Virat Kohli’s journey in international cricket is quite exemplary. The current Indian skipper has tumbled many records so far and he is even touted to surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s record of international centuries one day.

Talking about his batting expeditions across all formats, Kohli has left no stones unturned in proving his dominance at the international stage. While donning the Indian jersey in 86 Tests, 248 ODIs and 82 T20Is, Kohli has mustered over 20,000 international runs, making him one of the best in the business.

Kohli’s consistency and run-scoring spree often lead to people comparing him with greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Sir Viv Richards. India’s all-time great Sunil Gavaskar has also heaped praise on Kohli while saying that he bats exactly like Viv Richards.

Kohli is currently ranked first in ICC ODI rankings and Gavaskar drew out similarities between the Indian skipper and Viv Richards. Gavaskar reminisced the time when it was a tedious task to keep Richards quite at the crease. Same is the case with Kohli, according to the Indian legend.

It was very difficult to keep Viv Richards quiet: Sunil Gavaskar

“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’ watch-along ‘Winning the Cup – 1983’ to be aired on 25th June.

“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.”

This is not the first time when Kohli has been compared with greats like Viv Richards. Former Australia skipper Ian Chappell had also compared the batting styles of Richards and Kohli. Chappell had pointed out how the two stalwarts are efficient to place the ball well and score runs at a brisk rate.

“He said he didn’t want those to creep in his batting in the longer form of the game. 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,” Chappell had said on the RK Show.