Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff revealed his admiration for Indian skipper Virat Kohli as he called Virat the best batsman in the world.
Flintoff, while talking to Metro.co.uk, said that Kohli is better than his contemporaries Joe Root and Steve Smith. He said, “He’s (Virat Kohli) absolutely on his own. You look at the four main captains; Steve smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Virat Kohli. They’re all very, very good players but Virat is head and shoulders above all of them.”
For Flintoff, Kohli stands as a wonderful batsman across all formats. However, Kohli’s batting in the shorter format is what excites Flintoff the most. He said, “In the short-form of the game he just hits boundaries without looking like taking a risk. He’s in complete control. The other three I mentioned are very good players but Kohli is on a different planet.”
Flintoff rubbished all the criticism of Kohli not playing well outside the Indian sub-continent. He said, “It frustrates me when everyone says ‘he just does it in India, wait until he gets to England’. That’s nonsense, he’s a fine player. When he comes to England the ball will nip around a bit and he’ll adapt his game accordingly.”
This statement by Flintoff is a welcome change. In the last few days, Virat Kohli has been getting massive criticism for his onfield behaviour from the foreign media. Flintoff’s comment on his batting might soothe everything down a little.
