ParkedTheBus
International Coach
Just my humble opinion but Kohli is getting overrated. Firstly, he is a fantastic player with a surreal record, no doubt about it. But consider the fact that he has been playing on favourable conditions for quite some time. Even against Australia and the World Cup in 2015, the pitches were subcontinental. The pitches were designed to suit India. His test average was in the low 40s before he went on a mad streak against teams that were poor considering the conditions.
It is for this reason that I often restrain myself from calling current batsmen (essentially batsmen whose best periods have come post 2010) legends. The conditions are so favourable that a batsman can be nothing special but still average 45+. Case in point, Warner. I don't think Root/Smith/Kane would fare any lesser than Kohli if they had the privilege of playing in such a strong team on flat pitches. This isn't to say Kohli is bad but rather that he isn't superior to his peers. If you hold any doubts about my claim that Kohli is overhyped, observe cricinfo when he scores a century and when others do. Whereas others get one or two, he gets four or five. Maybe it is because the journos are pandering to the crowd considering Indian fans are the ones who visit the site most often, but it is there for all to see.
To make it clear once again, I think Kohli is a spectacular player but we are blessed to have other batsmen on the same level as him. To call him the world's best or a legend is outright injustice to those who have to play in worse teams on tougher tracks.
It is for this reason that I often restrain myself from calling current batsmen (essentially batsmen whose best periods have come post 2010) legends. The conditions are so favourable that a batsman can be nothing special but still average 45+. Case in point, Warner. I don't think Root/Smith/Kane would fare any lesser than Kohli if they had the privilege of playing in such a strong team on flat pitches. This isn't to say Kohli is bad but rather that he isn't superior to his peers. If you hold any doubts about my claim that Kohli is overhyped, observe cricinfo when he scores a century and when others do. Whereas others get one or two, he gets four or five. Maybe it is because the journos are pandering to the crowd considering Indian fans are the ones who visit the site most often, but it is there for all to see.
To make it clear once again, I think Kohli is a spectacular player but we are blessed to have other batsmen on the same level as him. To call him the world's best or a legend is outright injustice to those who have to play in worse teams on tougher tracks.
