Kumar Sangakkara: Virat Kohli is capable of becoming India’s greatest batsman of all time

Kumar Sangakkara: Virat Kohli is capable of becoming India’s greatest batsman of all time

no photo

Kumar Sangakkara has claimed that Virat Kohli is more than capable of being branded as India’s greatest cricketer of all time if he continues to do what he’s doing at the highest level. He also backed Kohli to go ahead of Sachin Tendulkar in the record books if he’s can continue with his good form.

When all else fails, trust in Virat Kohli seems to be the motto of the Indian cricket team. And Kohli’s stats speak for themselves as he has amassed 1059 runs from 10 Test’s last year with an average 75.64 while he scored 1460 runs from 26 matches at 76.84 in the ODI format. Kohli also scored 300 runs from 10 T20I’s at a decent average of 37.37. And former Sri Lankan skipper, Kumar Sangakkara suggested that if things continue to stay as they are then it won’t be long before the 29-year old is labeled as India’s greatest batsman of all time. Sangakkara also suggested that Kohli is definitely a contender to break the record of most centuries set by Indian legend - Sachin Tendulkar.

"The way he is playing, Virat can well become the greatest ever Indian batsman. In terms of Sachin's legacy both in terms of cricket and the way he has dealt with pressure, he is unique. But Virat is well on his way to match that. He is comfortably the best in the world of his generation and with time, he will mature even more. If he understands himself a bit better and keeps improving his game, he will break quite a few records It's up to him how long he plays and if he does for a while, a few serious records will be broken," Sangakkara told TOI.

Kohli’s scored a brilliant 149 in the first innings against the English at Edgbaston which took his tally of centuries to 57 international tons across all three formats. The Lankan legend heaped praise on Kohli’s feet movement as well, as he gracefully played his arch-nemesis - James Anderson - with ease during the first innings.

Kohli(47) and Dinesh Karthik(18) are on the crease for the visitors at the moment as India ended day three at 110/5. If the duo holds on for some time, it would be only a matter of time before the score the remaining 84 runs and go 1-0 up in the five-match Test series.

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all