IPL 2016: Virender Sehwag feels Virat Kohli's consistency cannot be matched

Sehwag also recalled Virat's performance as a young batsman

Former Indian batsman Virender Sehwag heaped praise on Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli and said that his consistency in the game is unmatched.  

Virat, who has been in a sensational form this year, has continued to shine in the ongoing IPL season and also scored his first T20 century in the match against Gujarat Lions on April 24, albeit in losing cause.

Sehwag, writing for sport360.com said that the right-hander has been scoring big without taking risks. "Virat Kohli is going through an excellent phase in Twenty20 cricket. The consistency with which he has been scoring the runs, I don’t think anyone else has.

“He is going through a purple patch and the best part about it is he is scoring all these runs without taking risks. Not only is he scoring big, his strike rate is around 130-140, which is amazing. Many players can hit big shots and look intimidating in T20s but very few can eliminate risk from their batting and still score runs at such a good rate."

He also went on to laud the Delhi-born cricketer and said that he will become one of India's greatest batsmen.

"His performance in this IPL has been superb and it is evident that he knows exactly where his strengths lie. He has the option of pacing his innings for 12-15 overs and then change gears according to the situation. And when the death overs come, Virat has the ability to score at a rate of 180 or even 200.

"This mixture of knowing his strengths and having explosive batsmen in the team has allowed Kohli to play his natural game throughout the IPL."

Virat played a key role for India during the World T20 and single-handedly took the team to the semi-finals with his stellar 82 off 51 against Australia. Amassing 625 runs in 13 matches, he is also the top scorer in T20 internationals this year.

Sehwag also recalled Virat's performance as a young batsman playing for Delhi. "The biggest change that I have seen in his batting, compared to when he started as a young batsman in my state side Delhi, is his technique outside the off stump. If you remember, during the England tour of 2014 he regularly got out to full balls outside the off stump. He identified that weakness and worked on it.

"He spent a lot of time with Sachin Tendulkar to iron out those flaws and even India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar helped Virat tighten his game up. This has resulted in him converting a weakness into a strong point and this is why he has become so good," he added.

Sehwag also mentioned that the 27-year-old has managed captaincy efficiently. "For some players, the added responsibility of captaincy might be too heavy a burden but for Virat, it has not affected his batting style at all. He had been scoring runs before being made India’s Test captain and now after it as well."

Virat was made the Test skipper after Mahendra Singh Dhoni was ruled out due to a finger injury during India's tour of Australia in 2014, and he became the fourth Indian to score a ton on Test captaincy debut. He took over as the full-time captain after Dhoni announced his retirement ahead of the Sydney Test.