World Cup 2019: Virat Kohli is a run machine, says WI legend Brian Lara

West Indies legend Brian Lara (left) is conferred a Doctorate in Science by DY Patil University Chancellor Dr Vijay Patil in Navi Mumbai yesterday. Pic/Atul Kamble

Virat Kohli is India's current run machine, but it was Sachin Tendulkar, who paved the way for Indian batsmen to adapt to different surfaces, said West Indies batting legend Brian Lara yesterday.

The former West Indies captain, who scored 22,358 international runs, was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Science by the DY Patil University Chancellor Dr Vijay Patil for his impeccable and admirable contribution to cricket and to society at large in Navi Mumbai yesterday.

"He [Kohli] is a [run] machine...but sorry to say Sachin Tendulkar is my [choice]. I think, what Sachin left on the game is just unbelievable.

"Sachin sort of bridged that period where you felt that when an Indian batsman left Indian soil, Indian pitches, he was not that good. But Sachin was good on every single surface," said Lara when moderator Radhakrishnan Sreenivasan asked him whether Kohli is the best he'd seen in the recent past.

For Lara, Kohli is an all-format cricketer, who is way ahead of the rest in the world. So far, Kohli, 30, has scored 6,613 runs in 77 Tests with an average of 53.76. In ODIs, the right-hander has amassed 11,251 runs (in 234 ODIs) and 2,263 runs in 67 T20Is.

Lara hailed Kohli as the batsman for all formats. "There is a huge gap between Kohli and the rest of the world in all forms of the game. Rohit Sharma might have four centuries in this World Cup, [Jonny] Bairstow or whoever, but if you want somebody to bat in T20s, T10s, 100 balls or Test cricket, it is going to be Kohli today," Lara, 50, said.

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