Former England captain Michael Atherton has hailed Indian cricketer Virat Kohli as the biggest superstar in world cricket. Kohli is known for his exceptional batting skills across all formats of the game, having played numerous match-winning innings for India over the past decade.
Kohli is widely regarded as one of the greatest Test batsmen in India’s cricket history, often called upon in times of crisis. He has a reputation for demonstrating remarkable discipline while negotiating the ball for long hours and manoeuvring it through challenging conditions.
However, his absence from the first Test match against England was felt significantly, given his reputation as the ultimate chaser and clutch player.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Michael Atherton believes that fans and supporters are drawn to the game because of the superstars and that there is no one bigger than Virat Kohli, who brings a lot of enthusiasm to the game.
“He is by far the biggest star in the game here. The supporters are often drawn to the superstars of the game, and there is none bigger than Virat Kohli here.
“I find him a fascinating batter to watch. I find him an absolutely fascinating cricketer in general. When he is on the field, even when he is not contributing, he just buzzes around with so much energy. He is a very magnetic and charismatic cricketer,” Michael Atherton said.
Although Virat Kohli was initially named in India’s squad for the first two matches of the upcoming five-match home series against England, he opted out of the first two games due to personal reasons. Kohli has recently missed several matches due to personal reasons, including India’s T20I series opener against Afghanistan earlier this year and India’s intra-squad encounter during their South Africa tour.
The 35-year-old looked primed to be the team’s backbone once more, with a significant role to play against England’s spinners and the old ball. With the rest of the Indian middle order unable to score runs continuously, Kohli had to stand strong among the relatively inexperienced guys.
Despite a low run total, Kohli was one of the better batsmen on display during a recent two-match Test series against South Africa. He demonstrated his abilities by top-scoring in two innings on difficult pitches and could be key to India’s success against England in the final three games, which he is expected to return for.
