‘Virat Kohli bats exactly like Viv Richards’: Gavaskar explains why India captain is considered ‘No. 1 player’

If you thought the comparisons between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar were never ending, a new debate seems to have picked up. This time the India captain is being pitted against the great West Indies cricketer Viv Richards, by one of India’s all-time batting great, Sunil Gavaskar.

The former India captain not only is convinced that Kohli is the world’s No. 1 batsman but believes the reason behind Kohli burning up the charts is due to the similarities he has with Sir Viv.

“It was very difficult to keep Viv Richards quiet when he was at the crease. Similarly, if you look at Virat Kohli’s batting today, in the same ball and same line, he will use his top hand and score a boundary towards the extra cover region and will use the bottom hand and score a boundary towards the mid-on and mid-wicket region,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports’ show ‘Winning the Cup - 1983’.

“That’s why Virat Kohli is considered as the No. 1 player because he bats exactly like Viv Richards. Earlier, Gundappa Vishwanath, VVS Laxman used to bat like this.”

Gavaskar is not the first to see shades of Richards in Kohli. Former Australia captain Ian Chappell had last month stated how there’s so much alike in the way Kohli and Richards bat, especially when it comes to the kind of shots they play.

“He said he didn’t want those to creep in his batting in the longer form of the game. The best short-form player in the time I played was Viv Richards, and he just played normal cricket shots but he placed the ball so well he was able to score at a very fast rate. And Kohli’s the same. He plays traditional cricket shots, and he plays them really well,” Chappell had said on the RK Show.