Kumar Sangakkara on Virat Kohli: Sri Lankan legend exalts the Indian captain

Dixit Bhargav | 12/02/2019
Kumar Sangakkara on Virat Kohli

Kumar Sangakkara on Virat Kohli: The Sri Lankan legend was wax lyrical about the Indian captain in a recent conversation.

India captain Virat Kohli’s greatness in world cricket can be calculated with how some of the absolute legends of the game are praising him these days. Just a day after legendary spinner Shane Warne disclosed reasons behind loving Kohli, former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has heaped praise on the 30-year old cricketer.

Claiming Kohli to be currently above anyone else in world cricket, Sangakkara went on to say that he will be one of the greatest ever cricketers.

“Everything about Virat’s game stands out. I think he is head and shoulders above anyone else in world cricket today. And I think going forward, he will be one of the greatest ever cricketers, if not the greatest ever,” Sangakkara told a news channel.

Kohli’s outstanding numbers

In 364 outings for India across formats since his debut in 2008, Kohli has scored 19,313 runs at an average of 56.14 and a strike rate of 78.77 including 64 centuries and 88 half-centuries. While he is usually compared with his counterparts in Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson, Kohli doing well across formats make him top this elite list.

Sangakkara, who retired from international cricket in 2015, appreciated Kohli’s knack and solid method of scoring runs. The 41-year old also laid emphasis on Kohli reading the situations well.

“He has this incredible knack of scoring runs and has a very, very solid method that he believes in. If you see the tempo which he bats with, it hardly changes. He does read the situation very well,” Sangakkara added.

Talking about the year gone by, Kohli scored 2,735 runs in 37 appearances for India across formats. An average of 68.37, a strike rate of 72.39, 11 centuries and nine half-centuries saw Kohli putting many formidable performances throughout 2018. His numbers also aided him in creating history at ICC Awards 2018.

After being rested from a part of India’s tour of New Zealand, Kohli is expected to be back leading India during the home series against Australia.

Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
India Kumar Sangakkara Virat Kohli

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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