NEW DELHI: Former England captain Kevin Pietersen said that he would pick Indian captain Virat Kohli over Australia's Steve Smith or even batting great Sachin Tendulkar. In an Instagram live video chat with commentator and former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa, Pietersen said that Kohli gets his pick because of the number of times he manages to complete chases successfully.
"Kohli is a freakshow, his record chasing winning games for India with the amount of pressure he lives under, Smith does not even come close to him," said Pietersen.
He said it is this factor that also puts Kohli above Tendulkar in his books.
"Again, Virat because of his chasing numbers. His chasing numbers are frightening, he averages more than 80 when it comes to chasing, he consistently wins games for India, he keeps on turning the numbers, and this matters to me as to how many games you win for your country," Pietersen said.
Kohli's extraordinary numbers in One Day Internationals, coupled with his tendency to register big totals while batting second, has led to many fans and commentators choosing the 31-year-old over Tendulkar.
While Tendulkar averaged 42.33 batting second, Kohli averages a mind-numbing 68.33. 7039 of his 11,867 ODI runs have come batting second.
Smith, on the other hand, has superior numbers in Test cricket. However, he has not found as much individual success in his limited-overs career as Kohli has.