Kohli best batsmen in the world‚ says coach Ravi Shastri

India coach Ravi Shastri has declared his captain Virat Kohli as the best batsman in the world across all formats.

Shastri‚ a former India captain‚ showered Kohli with lavish praise after he scored his 35th ODI ton and the third of the series to help the visitors to a convincing eight-wicket victory over the Proteas in the sixth and final match in Centurion on Friday.

Kohli ended as the series’s leading scorer with 558 runs in his six innings at a staggering average of 186.00‚ was named Player of the Series and became the first player in this format to score over 500 runs in a bilateral series.

“Yes‚ I would say he is the best batsman in the world right now. I am the head coach of the Indian national team and I have seen him bat like this across all conditions and in all formats.

“With him it is not just about averages but the way he get runs and the impact those runs have on what the team does‚” said the outspoken Shastri after the match.

Kohli‚ reacting to his coach’s high praise‚ said he does not care about headlines‚ but about his job of helping the team to win matches‚ nor was he in competition with anyone.

“I will be honest with you‚ at this stage I don’t feel like competing with anyone but it’s all about how I prepare myself before games‚ my work ethic and how I feel on game day‚” he said.

“My only motivation is to get into a good frame of mind and I am not competing with anyone at all. If anything‚ I always look to help my team in any way that I can.

“If you think about the team special things happen. If you think about being ahead of someone else you will be found out very quickly by this game and you compromise what the team needs.

“I don’t want any tags‚ I don’t want any headlines‚ I just go out there and do my job and it is up to the people to write what they want to write.

“I don’t want to be called anything‚ I am doing my job and I am not doing anyone a favour. I just want to be in the zone of working as hard as I can and try to do the best for the team.”

Shastri said he was blessed to have an inspirational leader like Kohli who leads by example and commands respect from his teammates.

“Having Kohli as a leader is huge because when you have a leader who leads by example the other guys will follow. We know what to expect and that is the beauty of this team on this trip.

“I feel proud as a coach that my boys showed intensity even after they went down 2-0 in the Test series. They showed character to come back and win the match in Johannesburg on a spiteful pitch.

“They took that momentum into the ODI series and showed the consistency over the last couple of weeks‚ which is fabulous.

“Credit should go to the leader because he led from the front with his batting and intensity. He scored over 500 runs in the series against the South African attack.”