Queensland [Australia], November 6 (ANI): Former Australia captain Steve Waugh was effusive about India’s batting behemoth Virat Kohli and classified the ‘Chase Master’ as the “greatest” ODI player of all time and “once-in-a-generation” cricketer.
Virat, who turned 37 on Wednesday, burst onto the international cricket scene back in 2008 as a promising teenager from the streets of West Delhi. The batting wizard has reached a stratosphere in world cricket that few have achieved. With a World Cup and two ICC Champions Trophy titles in his trophy cabinet, Virat has redifned the standards of the ODI format.
A bona fide legend in 50-over cricket, Virat, the second-highest run-getter in ODIs of all time, is the fastest to achieve milestones of 8,000, 9,000, 10,000, 11,000, 12,000, 13,000, and 14,000 runs in the format’s history. In 305 ODIs, Virat has garnered 14,255 runs, and with a tally of 51, he holds the record for most centuries by a player in the format.
“Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are two all-time great players. Virat Kohli is probably the greatest one-day player of all time. You want to see them play everywhere. People on the Gold Coast would love to see them play, but they can’t play every match,” Waugh told reporters on Thursday.
During Virat’s most recent outing, he enchanted the spectators by scripting one of his classic knocks, straight out of the vault, during India’s third ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground last month.
In the one-sided affair, Rohit Sharma delivered a batting masterclass with a swashbuckling 121* off 125 deliveries. On the other end, Virat anchored the innings with a composed 74* off 81 balls as India gunned down the 237-run target to notch an emphatic 9-wicket win.
Virat and Rohit retired from the T20I format after lifting the T20 World Cup title in Barbados last year. With the batting bigwigs missing the action in the ongoing five-match T20I series in Australia, Waugh is impressed by India’s modern-day team.
“Whilst they’re still playing for India, that’s fantastic. They’ve got a modern T20 side now, a lot of exciting stars playing. The game has got to evolve. It’s always great to see all-time great players in action. Someone like Virat Kohli, that’s a once-in-a-generation sort of player. If you get a chance, you want to see him play,” Waugh added. (ANI)
