Former England pacer Steve Harmison has hailed Virat Kohli as the greatest cricketer of the past two to three decades ahead of India’s upcoming ODI series against Australia. The Men in Blue are set to play three ODIs in Australia this October, with Kohli included in the squad, marking his return to international cricket.
Harmison chose Kohli over the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, acknowledging that his opinion might raise eyebrows. He explained that Kohli has faced far more challenges off the field in today’s modern game. Despite these pressures, Kohli’s ODI record remains outstanding.
In 302 matches, he has scored 14,181 runs at an impressive average of 57.88, including 51 centuries and 74 half-centuries.
“I put Virat Kohli at number one over Sachin Tendulkar, and that would raise a lot of eyebrows. But I thought his career, and what he had to do in his career, was I thought the way the game changed over the course of this last ten years, Virat’s had to have deal with a hell of a lot more off the field stuff that would affect him on the field.”
“I think for me, in the last 20-30 years, the greatest cricketer that has played the game, you take Shane Warne out, because he had come a lot before, I think it’s Virat Kohli,” Harmison said on talkSPORT Cricket.
Harmison Warns India May Struggle In 2027 ODI WC Without Kohli
Speculation continues about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s spots in India’s squad for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar emphasized that players need to take part in domestic cricket whenever possible to make a case for selection.
Kohli hasn’t played 50-over domestic cricket in over ten years, while Rohit last appeared in 2018. Harmison noted that their absence from domestic tournaments was largely due to the heavy load of international cricket they consistently played.
“We’ve got to remember, these guys haven’t played since 2013 and 2018 respectively, because they have been playing non-stop India. The amount of cricket they play, you look at Virat’s career numbers, he made his debut in 2008-2009. The reason why they haven’t played since then is that they have been constantly on the road with India,” he said.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.