Mumbai: Virat Kohli has buried the ghosts of his dismal 2014 England tour by scoring heavily this time around and former stumper Farokh Engineer believes that the India skipper has the potential to be the greatest batsman produced by the country.
“I see him (Kohli) going all the way. I see him (as) one of the greatest batsmen India has produced. In every generation, there is someone. There was a (Sachin) Tendulkar or a (Sunil) Gavaskar. And this is Kohli’s era. And he (Kohli) has all the penitential to be the greatest. He has got the potential to be greater than Sachin and Sunil,” Engineer told reporters here.
“But lets not call him now, let him get to that milestone, break those records and then we will call him that,” added the former flamboyant stumper-batsman.
Kohli has already scored two hundreds in the first three Tests against England and his 103 at Nottingham helped the team win the third Test and reduce the series deficit to 1-2 in the five-match rubber.
‘Look at Virat Kohli. He had a miserable tour of England last time he played there (in 2014). And his confidence was really low. But Virat is such a fighter and he said to himself – I am the finest batsman in the world and let me prove it. Not only on Indian or Caribbean wickets, I am going to get runs in England too,’ said Engineer. “And my word, he has batted so well. And he set a great standard for the team, (saying) ‘if I can do it, you all can do it,” added the Mumbai-based former cricketer.
Kohli has, thus far, won the personal battle against English pacer James Anderson, who had troubled him in 2014. Engineer said he was impressed with how Kohli has played against Anderson.
“It has impressed me immensely, because the way Virat has converted those unplayable balls into playable ones. The way our boys played at Trent Bridge (in the third Test), I am proud of them and Virat Kohli set a wonderful example there,” he signed off.