Virat Kohli‘s incredible batting efforts this year have earned him praise from former Indian bowler Venkatesh Prasad, who described it as his best-ever season. In 2023, after three consecutive years with an average below 40 in 2020, 2021, and 2022, Virat Kohli had an incredible 66.06 average across all formats.
In addition, Kohli scored an astounding eight hundreds in this season, which earned him second place in highest scorer behind Shubman Gill’s 2,048 runs. Also he surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the first person to score 50 hundreds and the fastest to reach 13,000 ODI runs.
Virat is currently part of India’s two match test series in South Africa, and he scored some valuable runs in both the innings of the first test match. India lost by an innings and 32 runs despite Kohli’s 38 and 76 on a bowler-friendly Centurion track.
It’s been a phenomenal year for Virat Kohli- Venkatesh Prasad
During a Q&A session on his X (Twitter) account, Prasad gave Kohli credit for his amazing comeback this season. Prasad added that Virat has proved again that he is a champion player, and he rated this year as one of his best.
“He has proved again that he is a champion and the best batsman of this generation, been a phenomenal year for him. Would rate this as his best year, especially since it had come after a couple of difficult years for him. That hunger and zeal was refreshing and sign of a true champion that Virat is,” said Venkatesh Prasad.
Virat Kohli also appeared in Venkatesh Prasad’s top 5 performances of 2023
Virat Kohli’s whole 2023 World Cup campaign was chosen by Venkatesh Prasad as one of his five best performances of the year. With a single edition record of 765 runs in 11 games at an average of 95.62, Virat Kohli was the highest scorer in the 2023 World Cup and went on to earn Player of the Tournament.
The former bowler also named Mohammed Shami, another Indian bowler, as having one of his five finest performances of the 2023 World Cup. With an average of 10.70, Shami grabbed an incredible 24 wickets in just seven games, including three five-wicket hauls.
Prasad selected three additional single-game performances from Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell, two Australian players. Travis Head’s heroics in the World Test Championship (WTC) and ODI World Cup final, and Maxwell’s 201* off 128 balls in a highly improbable chase of 292 against Afghanistan from 91/7, completed the list.
The Indians suffered the consequences of Head’s two magnificent century in the summit battles. In the WTC final innings, Head struck a brilliant 163 runs to lead Australia to a 209-run victory. In the World Cup final, he followed it with a 120-ball 137 that helped Australia win their sixth trophy.
Also Read: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Aakash Chopra Impressed With India’s Performance In Marquee ODI WC 2023