Virat Kohli would have given tough competition to legendary players like Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding had he played in the late 1970s and 80s according to former Australian captain Kim Hughes.
Recently, Virat Kohli registered a massive world record in India vs Bangladesh match on Wednesday. Virat surpassed legendary Mahela Jayawardene to become the leading run-scorer in the history of the T20 World Cup.
The general standard of Test match batting, though, has "deteriorated in current times", according to the former skipper.
Hughes, who played 70 Tests and also captained Australia during a critical phase, was considered to be a very stylish batter from the late 70s till mid-80s before he quickly faded out after a slump in form.
"Virat Kohli would be a world-class player in any era because he is tough, got a fantastic technique, and has plenty of courage. He would do well in any era," the 68-year-old Hughes told PTI in an interview.
- For Hughes, there is no one bigger and better than Sir Vivian Richards but Kohli would come just in the next bracket.
"Kohli would have been equally successful against the West Indies team of the 70s and 80s. Maybe, he is not in class of Viv, but suddenly in the top echelon.
"Viv was above everybody else, but Virat is certainly in the league of Greg Chappell, Allan Border and Javed Miandad, the best in my era," said the man, who had 4000 plus Test runs.
Hughes, who has nine Test hundreds apart from 22 half-centuries, feels that having an average of 50 plus isn't a big deal in these times. But, back in the day, it was a kind of novelty due to the kind of pace attack the top teams had.
"Only great players in my era averaged 50, and there were only half a dozen at max," said Hughes, whose own average was around 38, even though there were few who had the style and flair like him.
- He gave a technical example.
"In late 70s and mid 80s, only batter who could hit a pacer for six over extra cover consistently was Viv. And now even my nine-year-old grandson could hit a six.
"No team now have four great fast bowlers like the West Indies of yore had and in our era, only Viv, Greg (Chappell), AB (Border) and Javed Miandad were four great players. They averaged 50 plus," he added
