Virat Kohli joins the 'greatest cricketers of all time' debate, names two players as GOAT

Former India captain Virat Kohli is hands down one of the greatest cricketers in the current generation given the kind of things he has achieved in his career so far. Kohli recently proved his mettle again as he helped India win a crunch game against arch-rivals Pakistan at the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022. However, Kohli was recently asked to pick his greatest cricketers of all time. 

While speaking to Star Sports, the official broadcaster for the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia, Kohli picked India star Sachin Tendulkar and West Indies legend, Sir Vivian Richards, as his greatest cricketers of all time. While Tendulkar remains the most prolific run-scorer of all time with 100 international centuries to his name, Richards was a devastating batsman who could demolish any bowling attack in the world. 

Tendulkar played 200 Tests, 463 ODIs, and just one T20 International for his country in a career spanning from 1989 to 2013. Tendulkar has 15,921 runs in the longest format and 18,426 runs in ODI cricket, which he scored at averages of 53.78 and 44.83. Richards, on the other hand, played 121 Tests and 187 ODIs for West Indies from 1974 to 1991. He has scored 8540 Test runs at an average of 50.23, and 6721 ODI runs at an average of 47.00. 

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About Kohli's epic match-winning knock against Pakistan

As far as Kohli is concerned, the 33-year-old recently put on a match-winning performance at the ongoing T20 World Cup as he scored an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls to help India defeat Pakistan by 4 wickets. Kohli's knock came at a crucial time for India when the Rohit Sharma-led side was struggling to put on runs in their chase of 159 runs. Kohli forged a 113-run partnership with Hardik Pandya to take India closer to victory. 

Pakistan's Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf struck early to put India under pressure. India were reeling at 31-4 at one stage in the game. However, Kohli and Pandya's partnership helped India recover from a shaky start and get closer to a historic win. Pandya was dismissed in the final over of the game but Kohli remained unbeaten to finish the chase for India. He was named the player of the match for his batting heroics. 

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Image: AP