Nasser Hussain compares Virat Kohli to Cristiano Ronaldo after Pune masterclass

What’s the story?

People are falling short of adjectives to describe Virat Kohli and his superhuman form with the bat. It is not even a surprise now: he’s usurping long-standing records every time he picks up a bat for Team India.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has added himself to his ever-growing list of admirers by claiming that the 28-year old is the Cristiano Ronaldo of Indian cricket.

“I think what Kohli is trying to do is push the boundary and raise the bar of everything he does. I read out here that he prefers Ronaldo to Messi. Messi was given a lot of natural ability but he prefers Ronaldo, who has made himself the footballer that he is and pushed himself on and off football pitch, and that is what Kohli has done in cricketing terms”, Hussain, while covering the match for SkySports.

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Kohli was on a different level altogether against England at Pune, creaming the touring bowlers to all parts of the ground with remarkable authority en route to a scintillating knock of 122 that helped the side chase down a mammoth 350. It was his 27th century in ODIs, now only three behind Ricky Ponting’s 375-match tally of 30 tons.

Hussain has compared Kohli to Ronaldo, the Portuguese superstar who is widely regarded as one of the game’s all-time greats, if not the best. Last year, Ronaldo won his fourth Ballon d’Or, which is the most by a European in history. Much like Ronaldo, who was the highest paid athlete of 2016, Kohli is one of the biggest icons of the game, with a massive fan following.

The heart of the matter

Ever since turning a new leaf in his career post the World Cup in 2011 and the IPL that followed, Kohli has been in unstoppable form, taking giant strides to catch up on the who’s who of world cricket. Not just in limited overs, his game has improved by leaps and bounds in the longest format as well, as was evident when he was entrusted with the mantle of leading the team in whites after the sudden departure of MS Dhoni in late 2014.

Hussain’s former teammate, Michael Vaughan, went a step ahead, calling Kohli the best Test, ODI and T20 player, even joking that the India captain was from another planet.

Kohli averages in the late 70s as a captain, having been the skipper in 18 ODIs. He now lies fourth in the list of most centuries in ODIs ever, despite not even completing a decade of international cricket.

What’s next?

The curve seems well on its way to go upwards for Kohli as a batsman, who is now closing in on records that seemed unsurpassable even a decade back. He’s now the captain in all three formats, and seems to relish his role as a skipper-batsman. If he can continue in the same vein for years to come, Indian cricket is set for an exciting future.

Sportskeeda’s take

In the past one year, Kohli has managed to edge out competitors at the top level and go beyond, showing nonpareil ability to switch formats and score bucket loads of runs. One only hopes that Kohli doesn’t lose his steam and saves his best for more important matches. He doesn’t seem to have ever hit a rough patch. Hopefully, he never ever does.