WATCH: Ravi Shastri Pays Tribute To Virat Kohli’s Longevity; Describes Him As A ‘Different’ Cricketer

Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Ravi Shastri has given Virat Kohli a wholesome tribute for his insane longevity in the sport. Kohli has been a star performer for India ever since his debut in 2008 against Sri Lanka. Recognising his relevance in the last decade, Shastri had some warm words for Kohli during an interview with ICC. The ex-coach said, “I think one of the greats of the game. You know, he dominated the decade of cricket across formats of the game. When you look at one player who dominated all three formats of the game, for a period of 10 years, it had to be Virat Kohli.” ICC shared a clip of this warm tribute on Instagram.

Shastri’s words resulted in fans pouring down their reactions in the post’s comments section. One of them wrote, “3 ICC trophies, 3 POTT in ICC events. POTM in the ICC final. 10 ICC awards. This man is the GOAT.”

Another said, “I’m a Babar [Azam] fan but Kohli is something else. Hats off to Kohli.”

One added, “The only player with 10 ICC awards…Virat ‘The King’ Kohli.”

Another wrote, “The King of World Cricket, the undisputed champion.”

“Emperor of this generation, the one and only Virat the run machine Kohli,” added one more.

In the video, Shastri took the example of other top batters in the world and said, “I mean you would get Joe Root in one format, you’ll get Steve Smith in one format, you’ll get Rohit Sharma in one format but this guy was in the top three, top two or three across all formats, be it the one-day game, be it T20 cricket and of course Test cricket. So no bigger tribute.”

Speaking further, Shastri explained what made Virat Kohli different as a cricketer. “You don’t compare players of different eras. But if someone can stay on top of a sport for that long, a period of time at the top across formats, just shows his versatility, his ability to adapt and just shows his skill sets. You know to be able to do that. Not many can, but he’s shown why he’s different,” he concluded.

In his 16-year-long career, Kohli has emerged as the fourth-highest scorer in the sport across all formats with 26,922 runs. The 35-year-old has notched this tally in 113 Tests, 294 ODIs and 125 T20Is. In terms of team accolades, Kohli has won the ICC ODI World Cup in 2011, the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 and the T20I World Cup in 2024.