It Was Sachin Tendulkar But Currently Virat Kohli Is My Favourite Batsman: Umar Gul

Former Pakistan pacer Umar Gul has lavished praise on Virat Kohli, saying that the loves watching the India captain in action. Umar Gul was at his prime when Virat Kohli made his debut in international cricket in 2008. The former cricketer has seen Virat Kohli’s meteoric rise in the game from very close quarters.

Virat Kohli’s journey as a batsman has been really phenomenal. After struggling for consistency in the early years of his career, the India batting superstar has been delivering with unprecedented consistency in the last few years. He is widely regarded as the best batsman across formats at present.

At just 31, Kohli has hit a staggering 70 centuries and 104 half-centuries in international cricket. With 43 tons to his name, he is second in the list of most centuries in ODIs. He is the only player in the world with average of more than 50 in all the three formats of the game.

In the last six years or so, he has scored heavily in all the parts of the world and in all the formats. And just like many, Umar Gul has also become Virat Kohli’s fan. The former Pakistan pacer also stated that legendary Sachin Tendulkar was his favourite batsman but he likes Kohli more now.

“It was Sachin Tendulkar but currently Virat Kohli. In the last 4-5 years, the way Virat Kohli has been performing, he is my favourite batsman. The way he has changed himself. His behaviour on the field when he started playing against us to now has totally changed. All his concentration now is on his performances. The way he plays, I enjoy watching his batting,”  Umar Gul said while speaking in a show CricCast.

Umar Gul, meanwhile, played 47 Tests for Pakistan and picked up 163 wickets. He also played 130 ODIs and 60 T20Is, picking up 179 and 85 scalps respectively. He was part of the Pakistan team that won the T20 World Cup in 2009.

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