Virat Kohli is not chasing anybody, he is chasing himself: Ravi Shastri

Virat Kohli is well ahead of his contemporaries when his record across formats is taken into account. No batsman even comes close to the Indian batting maestro as he continues to set the benchmark higher with each passing day. Irrespective of format and venue, the India skipper has performed consistently and is already considered a great by many.

He is currently the number one ODI and Test batsman. Kohli could have been at the top in T20Is too but in recent times, he has skipped a lot of series. At just 31, he has already hit a staggering 43 ODI tons and need just seven more to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries. In Tests, he has hit 27 centuries while he has hit a whopping 100 half-centuries across formats.

No player has scored more runs than Kohli this decade and the India batting star is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. He has already proved himself in Australia, England and South Africa as well as other venues. The way Kohli has been batting from the last few years, it would not be surprising if he retires from the game as the most decorated batsman of all time.

Ravi Shastri on Virat Kohli

With Virat Kohli doing wonders with the bat, India head coach Ravi Shastri has lavished praise on him. In a recent interview, the former India allrounder once again stated just how much he likes Kohli. Shastri, in fact, went on to call Kohli the ‘ultimate statesman’ of the sport at the moment.

“There’s no cricketer in the world who comes close to him when you put the three together (Virat Kohli as a batsman, captain, and ambassador). He is the ultimate statesman at the moment. He is a great ambassador for the sport,” Shastri told India Today.

Shastri further said that Kohli doesn’t need any benchmarks as he himself is one. Not only that, but Shastri also fired a warning to the other teams by telling that Kohli will only get better in the coming days. Shastri said that the India skipper is not looking to emulate anyone but is only chasing himself.

“He will carry on. He will only get better and better. He is not chasing anybody, he is chasing himself. He is the benchmark. He sets the benchmark. It happened with Tendulkar. When Sachin used to play, I used to tell him, ‘you’re the only guy who has got more hundreds that your age’. Not easy!

“Same with Virat. He is only chasing himself. He doesn’t want to emulate anyone. ‘Be Virat Kohli’. That’s what we will tell him. We should all enjoy this period with him at the helm,” said the India coach.

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