Brian Lara: Virat Kohli has got a stage set for him with Sachin Tendulkar

Lara: Kohli has got a stage set for him with Tendulkar

Indian captain Virat Kohli is rapidly becoming global favourite. Kohli has been on a roll, he is No. 2 in Test rankings for batsmen, while he sits pretty at No. 1 in T20I cricket. Kohli has been on a run-making spree as he has scored four double hundreds since July 2016, and for obvious reasons, he has managed to garner praise from legendary cricketer Brian Lara, who has compared him with Sachin Tendulkar. The former West Indies’ batsman said Kohli’s T20 style is helping him to notch up to the rank of Tendulkar.

“He’s an awesome talent. He’s got a stage set for him with Sachin Tendulkar and trying to follow in his footsteps, but I think he’s held himself pretty well so far and a lot of things are expected from him, especially from the Indians,” Lara was quoted as saying by sportal.co.nz

Kohli has time and again shown his strength in all formats and that makes him primed to come up to someone like Tendulkar, who remains an all time leading scorer in Test cricket. “He’s been doing that in all forms of the game, not just the T20 — in the Test matches, in the 50-over game too,” he said.

With the highest average of 53.40 in the T20I format, Kohli shares the stage with England’s Joe root with 40.33, the closest to come to his score. According to Lara, the 28-year-old has applied his T20 skills in all formats and that is what is keeping him in the forefront.

He also spoke on the changing scenario of batting globally. He said “I think the game has changed, it’s a lot more innovative. The batsmen are trying a lot more, especially with the T20 version of the game; it allows them to really and truly free themselves up.”