Michael Holding rates Viv Richards greater than Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar

Cricketer-turned-commentator Michael Holding represented West Indies between 1975 and 1987 in 60 Tests and 102 ODIs. Nicknamed the "Whispering Death", Michael Holding was widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time and was part of the famous and ferocious West Indian pace battery that included the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Andy Roberts. During his 16-year international journey, Michael Holding also played alongside batting legend Sir Viv Richards, who was known for decimating oppositions bowlers with his attacking stroke-play.

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Michael Holding lauds Viv Richards

While speaking with Sky Sports, Michael Holding described Sir Viv Richards as the best batsman he has ever seen who never looked intimidated irrespective of the batting conditions. Holding said that he faced bowlers like Richard Hadlee, Bishan Singh Bedi, Ian Botham, Abdul Qadir among others and scored runs against all of them with ease.

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On what might seem a little surprising to some cricket followers, Michael Holding did not pick Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar as the best batsman of his era. Sunil Gavaskar was the first to scale 10,000 runs in Tests and he scored 1,404 runs at an average of 70.20 against the mighty West Indies attack of the 1970s and 1980s. Sunil Gavaskar smashed seven centuries and four half-centuries against Michael Holding and co. in 24 innings. Holding didn't take the name of Sachin Tendulkar either, who has a plethora of records to his name till date since making his international debut in 1989.

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Viv Richards career and his opinion on Virat Kohli

Sir Viv Richards retired in 1991 as one of the greats of the game. He scored 8,540 runs in 121 Tests and 6,721 runs in 187 ODIS, scoring 35 international centuries across both the formats. Being a batting icon himself, Viv Richards often praises Indian captain and modern-day batsman Virat Kohli. He once famously claimed that Virat Kohli carries the same passion on the field with which he used to play with.

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