One of the chief architects of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup triumphs, Yuvraj Singh has hailed Virat Kohli as the best batter of this generation while also stating that the star batter deserves to win the World Cup medal more than anyone.
Kohli is aiming for the coveted trophy at the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, where he will compete for the sixth time.
While Kohli set a record for most runs (765 runs) in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup last year and won the Player of the Tournament award, India failed to lift the trophy after losing to Australia in the title clash.
"He has definitely broken all the records in this era," Yuvraj said in a chat with ICC. "The best batter of this generation, I feel, in all formats. And I think he is also someone who needs a World Cup Medal. He has one. I'm sure he is not satisfied with one. I think he surely deserves that medal as well."
"I think he understands his game really well. He knows if he's there till the end, he is going to win the game for India and he has done that on some big occasions - against Australia in Mohali as well.
"Once he had the confidence of chasing and knowing the situation, he knows how to bat in these situations, knows which bowlers to attack, which bowlers to take singles off, when to attack again, handle the pressure and knows when to change his game," he added.
As far as Virat Kohli’s exploits in the T20 World Cup is concerned, he earned the Player of the Tournament awards in 2014 and 2016 editions.
Kohli slammed four half-centuries in six matches in 2014, and Yuvraj, who witnessed some of those knocks from the non-striker's end, lauded his ball-striking in that tournament.
"I think he was outstanding. He was in one of the best forms of his life. He was hitting the ball unbelievably. And I had a small partnership with him (in the final) and then he batted with Dhoni," Yuvraj stated.
Kohli is the leading run-getter in the ongoing IPL season with 542 runs to his name, including one hundred and four half-centuries from 11 innings.
Sharing the secret of Kohli’s success, Yuvraj said: "Why I think he was so good was because every time in nets or a practice situation, he would not go and just slog balls."
"In the nets, he would always bat like he was batting in a match. He put that in repetition after repetition after repetition. I have not seen that in many players. I think that is the key to his success," he further remarked.