Former Indian cricketer-turned-politician, Navjot Singh Sidhu, stirred up a debate by choosing Virat Kohli as India's 'best ever' batter ahead of the upcoming IPL 2024, where he will be doing commentary duty.
Sidhu picked Kohli ahead of cricketing legends such as Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and MS Dhoni as India’s best-ever batter, which has certainly ignited discussions among cricket enthusiasts.
India has been fortunate to witness the emergence of exceptional batters across generations, making it challenging to select the greatest among them. However, Sidhu easily picked Kohli as the best-ever Indian batter, overshadowing the achievements of legendary icons Gavaskar, Tendulkar, and Dhoni.
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Navjot Singh Sidhu told India Today: “I have rated him as the best Indian batter ever. There are eras where I would put up my transistor and listen to Sunil Gavaskar bat against the West Indies, those are the 70s. The great West Indies fast bowlers, bunking school and just going out one period and listening to how he was batting and without a helmet, that was his era.”
Sidhu further noted, “He dominated for almost 15-20 years. Then came Tendulkar, another era. Then came Dhoni, and then came Virat. If you look at four, I would rate him as the best because he has adapted to all three formats.”
He further highlighted Kohli’s fitness, technical acumen, longevity, and adaptability to three formats, saying these factors helped him to pick the former skipper as India’s best event batter.
Sidhu signed off by saying, “In the same way, his technical ability and the fittest of all of them. If you look at all four, he would be the fittest. Tendulkar had problems, in the latter stages of his career. Dhoni, he is fit. Virat is super fit. That holds him in good stead. It elevates him to a level, a few notches higher, that others have not been able to achieve. The longevity factor gives him a plus. The adaptability factor is Sone Pe Suhaaga.”
Virat Kohli will return to competitive cricket in IPL 2024 after a break of two months.
(With India Today Inputs)
