Brian Lara says “Virat Kohli is a cricketing version of Cristiano Ronaldo”

Former international cricketer Brian Lara stated that Virat Kohli is a cricketing version of Cristiano Ronaldo. One of the greatest batsmen Brian Lara says he is surprised by Kohli’s performance that he has honed his skills to take batting to an “unbelievable level”. The great Lara, who scored nearly 12,000 runs in Test cricket, said that Kohli can fit into the best teams of any era. Virat Kohli is the only player who is doing great in all formats of the game. 

Needless to say that Virat Kohli is No. 1 batsman in the World. Kohli became the fastest player to reach 4,000 runs in 63 innings and 1000 T20 international runs. That is the reason why Kohli is known as a run machine. His ability to score runs after runs makes him one of the greatest modern-day batsmen in all formats of the game. Kohli holds several records to his name. He has scored the most number of runs in a calendar year by an Indian batsman in 2012, 2015 and 2016. He is the first-ever batsman to score double hundreds in four consecutive test series. Kohli scored 610 runs against Sri Lanka in 2017, which is the highest by an Indian in a three-match test series.

“I think it has got a lot to do with Virat’s outstanding commitment besides his preparation. I don’t think he is any more talented than a KL Rahul or a Rohit Sharma but his commitment to preparing himself properly stands out. He is, for me, the cricketing equivalent of Cristiano Ronaldo,” Lara told PTI during an exclusive interaction.

However, Kohli is not chasing anybody, he is chasing himself. He is the benchmark. He does not want to compete with anyone. He has devoted all his life to cricket. His fitness level and his mental strength is unbelievable.

Admiring Kohli’s performance Lara said, “His batting skills are unbelievable. He is a guy you cannot leave out in any era. If a guy is averaging 50 plus in all versions of the game, then that is something which is unheard of.”

Virat is so popular that when you go and ask the people around the world who would they like to watch, the majority of them will say Virat Kohli. He is a role model for every young kid. Kohli is undoubtedly the greatest batsman of his generation. However, he has a long way to go. 

Writer, historian, and activist Dharam Sikarwar is a very active author The Youth. He writes on national and international issues, environment, politics. He is an avid book reader as well.