"He has shown why he is different"- Ravi Shastri's tribute to Virat Kohli

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has hailed star batter Virat Kohli for his longevity and versatility across formats. Shastri and Kohli share a great camaraderie given the work they did together as coach and captain for several years.

Shastri maintained that he didn't want to compare players from different generations. However, shedding light on how good Kohli had been across formats for the past decade, Shastri feels not many could achieve that longevity.

Ravi Shastri said about Virat Kohli on the ICC Review:

"You cannot compare players of different eras. But if someone can stay on top of the sport for that long, this showed his versatility, his ability to adapt and just shows his skillsets to do that. Not many can do that. But he has shown why he is different."

Kohli won the Player of the Match award in the T20 World Cup final for his 76-run knock off 59 balls. He declared after the game that he would be retiring from the T20I format.

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Ravi Shastri feels Virat Kohli is one of the greats of the game

Ravi Shastri believes Virat Kohli's name should be taken alongside some of the greatest players the game has ever seen. He shed light on how the likes of Joe Root, Steve Smith, and Rohit Sharma have been excellent in one format, and how Kohli was at his best across formats for a long time.

"I think one of the greats of the game. I think he dominated that decade across formats of the game. When you look at one player who dominated all three formats of the game for a period of ten years, it had to be Virat Kohli. You would get Joe Root in one format, Steve Smith in one format, Rohit Sharma in one format. But this guy was in the top three across formats," Shastri stated in the same interaction.

Kohli remains the only player to have won two Player of the Tournament awards in T20 World Cup history. He also won the Player of the Tournament award in the 2023 ODI World Cup.

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