Heaping praise on skipper Virat Kohli and his recent exploits in South Africa, India cricket team coach Ravi Shastri has compared the mercurial player to Pakistan’s World Cup winning captain Imran Khan.
“It’s still early days for Virat. He is still very very young. But he is already there among the very best. He wants to lead by example. He reminds me a lot of Imran. He is still very young but he has got lot of qualities that Imran had when it came to leading a side. Which is great,” Shastri told Anandabazar Patrika.
Kohli, ranked No.1 batsman in One Day Internationals, was in imperious form against the Proteas becoming the first batsman ever to score 500 or more runs in a bilateral ODI series.
The dashing right-hander, rated as one of the finest in modern times, finished the series with 558 runs racking up three centuries, a record for an Indian batsman, and one fifty in six innings.
Kohli’s six innings in the series are – 112, 46*, 160 not out, 75, 36 and 129 not out.
Imran led Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup and was arguably the best cricketer produced by Pakistan.
Asked about the similarities between Imran and Kohli, Shastri said the desire to always be on top and having an infectious energy level made him draw the comparision.