Carl Hooper on Virat Kohli: “Virat is a very good player. Is he a great player?”

Carl Hooper on Virat Kohli: The West Indian quashed all comparisons of Kohli with legendary players of the yesteryear era.

Former West Indies captain Carl Hooper played during an era when West Indies were going a transition phase. At that time, no one would have thought of them never returning to what they were known for initially.

In an interview with Cricketnext, Hooper quashed all comparisons of current Indian captain in Virat Kohli with great names of his era. Hooper said that the standards have dipped over the years to the extent that he described playing against the current West Indies’ team as ‘like taking a candy from a child’.

“It’s difficult to say, it’s a different era. When you look at Sri Lanka or Pakistan, the standard dipped. Sachin scored his runs against bowlers like Wasim, Waqar, Ambrose, and Walsh. But when you look at the current West Indies team, it’s like taking a candy from a child. It’s hard to make a comparison between eras but from a stats point of view,” he was quoted.

On being asked if Kohli reminds him of the legendary Sir Viv Richards, Hooper was quick to say ‘no’, terming both the batsmen as very different from each other.

“No, a totally different player. We’ll probably never see another Viv Richards. Kohli is a very good player but not in that intimidating way that Viv was. Kohli will probably go down as one of the greats when he finishes but I don’t think I’ve seen another player that demands respect like Viv Richards,” he said.

51-year Hooper was of the opinion that Kohli is a very good player but calling him great is ahead of its time. “Virat is a very good player. Is he a great player? I don’t know. But by the time he’s finished he’s going to be there,” he added.

Read some of the recent Twitter reactions on Kohli below: