Greg Chappell praises Kohli, calls him 'most complete Indian batsman'

SYDNEY: Virat Kohli has come in for some very high praise from Greg Chappell, the legendary Australian batter and former Team India head coach.

Chappell called Virat Kohli the "most complete Indian batsman" of his time and further went on to term Virat's recent ICC T20 World Cup matching winning knock against Pakistan a "song by God."

If slamming his much-anticipated 71st international ton after over a thousand days during Asia Cup 2022 was not enough, Virat silenced all the criticism and talks of his place in India's T20I set-up with this knock, that helped Men in Blue snatch an improbable four-wicket win from the jaws of defeat.

It was a knock that left Chappell mighty impressed. Writing in his Sydney Morning Herald column, "None of the greats of bygone eras could have dismembered an opponent so brutally without compromising the niceties of the art of batting than Kohli did on the last Sunday night."

"Kohli is the most complete Indian batsman of my time. Only the greatest of champions have the courage and the intelligence to transport their imagination beyond the mortal plane. Kohli has that. Perhaps only Tiger Pataudi has come close to transcending a similar stratosphere."

"Kohli played an innings that was as close to a 'song by god' as has ever been played in T20 cricket. Like a cat playing with a new skein of wool, Kohli teased then expertly picked apart an excellent Pakistan bowling attack until it lay unravelled, spent and exposed on the green carpet of the MCG," he concluded.

Since his return to the sport in Asia Cup 2022 after a month-long break taken after a long while of battling inconsistent form, Virat has scored 548 runs in 12 innings at an average of 78.28.

One century and five half-centuries have been scored by him since his return, with the best score of 122*.

In the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 so far, Virat has scored 144 runs in two innings without being dismissed, with two fifties. He is in fourth place among the top run scorers, with Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis (176) being at the top.

The Men in Blue will lock horns against South Africa in their Group 2, Super 12 match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup at Perth on Sunday.

The Proteas are heading into the match after a 104-run win over Bangladesh.

On the other hand, India also won its previous match against the Netherlands by 56 runs. India is at the top of Group 2 with four points and two wins in two matches.

Proteas are in the second position with three points and one win in two matches. Their other game against Zimbabwe produced no result and both teams split points.