Virat Kohli is head and shoulders above Smith, Root and Williamson: Flintoff

New Delhi, March 15: Former England skipper Andrew Flintoff has praised India captain Virat Kohli and rated the latter as the best batsman among present modern day greats.

Kohli surpasses Don Bradman to set new world record Kohli surpasses Don Bradman to set new world record

The former England all-rounder praised the 'Run Machine' Kohli and even said that he would have loved bowling against the 28-year-old dasher.

Virat Kohli is head and shoulders above Smith, Root and Williamson: Flintoff — File photo: Virat Kohli

Kohli at present is in the top 5 of ICC rankings, in all three formats of the game. He recently became the first cricketer to slam four Test doubles in consecutive Tests, surpassing greats like Sir Donald Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar.

In an interview to Metro.co.uk, Flintoff was quoted as saying, "He's (Kohli) absolutely on his own. You look at the four main captains; Steve smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Virat Kohli. They're all very, very good players but Virat is head and shoulders above all of them."

"You watch him play and the one thing that's so impressive is that in Test cricket he's got all the shots and tricks but decides to get his head down and grind runs out.

"And then in the short-form of the game he just hits boundaries without looking like taking a risk. He's in complete control. The other three I mentioned are very good players but Kohli is on a different planet," he added further.

(Kohli is from another planet: Michael Vaughan)

Kohli who scored runs in leaps and bounds against every opposition, irrespective of which format he plays, had a forgettable tour of England in 2014 -- where he struggled against English pacers.

Flintoff, who is a proffessional boxer now, feels that was a thing of the past and Kohli would be a force to reckon with when India next tour England.

"I would've loved to have a bowl at him but I honestly don't know what his weaknesses are. It frustrates me when everyone says 'he just does it in India, wait until he gets to England'. That's nonsense, he's a fine player. When he comes to England the ball will nip around a bit and he'll adapt his game accordingly," he added further.

Kohli scored a whopping 655 runs against England in 5-Test series held last year at 109.16. He slammed two hundreds (including a double ton) and two fifties during the Test series.

He was the highest rungetter in the series and seemed in a menacing form against England bowlers.

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