Steve Waugh terms Virat Kohli to have the 'best technique in the world'

Former Australian great Steve Waugh has heaped praises on Virat Kohli, terming him to have the "best technique in the world". The Indian skipper is currently the No.1 batsman in Test format. He also scored an amazing 149 against England in the first Test at Birmingham, in conditions where other batsmen failed.

His 200-run knock in the Test match earned him appreciation from around the world. And joining in is Waugh, the legendary Australian skipper. He told cricket.com.au that the Indian skipper has the best technique in world cricket, and only AB de Villiers could have been a match for it. The former Aussie legend also stated that Kohli ranks alongside the likes of Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Viv Richards and Javed Miandad.

Earlier this year in July, Waugh's former teammate and two-time World Cup winner Ricky Ponting had stated that Kohli is the best player in the world only because of the absence of former Aussie skipper Steven Smith, who is serving an one-year ban for his role in the ball tampering case earlier this year.

Kohli became the first Indian batsman since Sachin Tendulkar to become the No.1 batsman in Test format. He achieved this feat following his brilliant display in the first Test between England and India at Birmingham, which the hosts won by 31 runs.

The Indian skipper overtook former Australian skipper Steven Smith to reach the top of the rankings. Following his sensational display, the 29-year-old earned 31 points, which means he now has a rating of 934, in comparison to the 929 of Smith, who hasn't featured in any format since March, and will not be available for selection until March 2019.

Kohli also became only the seventh Indian to achieve this feat, after Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar. The 29-year-old is 69 points ahead of his closest active competitor, who is Joe Root. The England skipper made 94 runs in the match, though, saw his side beat India in a thrilling encounter to take a 1-0 lead in the five-Test series.

While his performance in the first Test was commendable, even he struggled in the ongoing second Test at Lord's. Kohli made a mere 23 as India were bundled out for 107 in the first innings on Day Two, in a match which has been badly affected by rain.