'Just A Different Level': Virat Kohli Hailed As The Greatest ODI Player Ever

Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell named Indian batting icon Virat Kohli as the "best-ever" in ODI cricket, hailing his ability to time the ball well and put the ball into gaps effortlessly. 

Maxwell was speaking on 'Keeping it Cricket' podcast, with former Aussie cricketers Brad Haddin and Alyssa Healy as hosts. 

Speaking on his all-time bests across formats, Maxwell first mentioned Virat for ODIs, saying, “The best I ever saw in one-day cricket, is Kohli. Like, some of the innings he has played against us have been ridiculous. He has just got more time. He is able to put the ball where he wants in the field, and yeah, just a different level.”

With 14,941 runs in 314 ODIs and 302 innings at an average of 58.59 and 54 centuries, 79 fifties, Virat is one of the finest and perhaps the finest ever ODI batter. He has an incredible record in successful run-chases, having made 6,235 runs in 111 matches and 105 innings at an average of 89.07, including 24 centuries and 29 fifties. This year in ODIs, Virat has 384 runs in six innings at an average of 64.00 and a strike rate of over 106, with a century and three fifties. 

In T20 cricket, he named West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell, still active in the league circuit, as the best, because of his power, fine fielding and ability to bowl 140 clicks, all at the same time. 

"In T20s, it is hard to go past someone like Andre Russell. Just their power is ridiculous. If they keep going, you cannot stop them. They hit the ball so hard and far, and to back that up, he was bowling 140 clicks and fielding in hot spots. He is just literally a perfect cricketer," said Maxwell on the West Indies titan's T20 credentials. 

In 607 T20s, Russell has made 9,919 runs at an average of 26.03 and a strike rate of 166.70, with two centuries and 36 fifties, with a best score of 121*. He has hit a total of 808 sixes in the format. With the ball, he has taken 535 runs at an average of 25.57, including 10 four-fers hauls and a five-wicket haul, with best figures of 5/15. 

In Test cricket, he chose none other than his teammate, Steve Smith. 

"I got to be a part of the Test squad in 2017 in that series in India (scoring 499 runs in eight innings, with three centuries) where he peeled off a couple of hundreds and was just batting on a different planet. Oh, I think he got three hundreds during that tour. He was just incredible. I felt lucky to be a part of that squad just to be able to witness that," he signed off. 

Smith is the fourth-highest Test run-getter for Australia, with 10,920 runs in 125 matches and 223 innings at an average of 56.00, with 37 centuries and 45 fifties and a best score of 239.

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