Virat Kohli ranked above sporting legends like Usain Bolt, Mike Tyson, Serena Williams and Michael Phelps in Pubity’s greatest athletes of all time list 

He has been ranked as the 5th greatest athlete of all time following a fan poll done by Gen Z publishers, Pubity.

Virat Kohli ranked above sporting legends like Usain Bolt, Mike Tyson, Serena Williams and Michael Phelps in Pubity’s greatest athletes of all time list 

Virat Kohli scored his 48th ODI century in front of an enthusiastic Pune crowd (Image via ESPN)

Gen Z publishers Pubity recently conducted a vote for the greatest athletes of all time on their Instagram channel. As expected, Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi was ranked 1st, while Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo came in 2nd. Although icons from other sports made it into the top 10, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli ranked 5th on the list. 

The 35-year-old batter has ranked above stars like sprinter Usain Bolt, boxer Mike Tyson, tennis star Serena Williams and Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time. He also ranked above NBA legend, LeBron James. Above Kohli are Messi, Ronaldo, Muhammed Ali and Michael Jordan. 

YouTube video

Kohli is regarded as the greatest batter in the modern era of cricket. He has over 26,310 runs in just 571 innings, averaging 52.74. In India’s last match in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup, he equalized Sachin Tendulkar to become the batter with the most centuries in ODIs. He is also India’s highest run scorer in the World Cup, with 543 runs. 

West Indian legend calls Virat Kohli one of the greats 

West Indian legend Sir Vivian Richards said Virat Kohli’s century against South Africa cemented him in the bracket of the all-time greats. Talking to the ICC, Richards said what makes the Indian star better than others was his mentality. He said although Virat was going through a rough patch, he didn’t give up and pushed himself back to greatness, something many batters can’t do. 

Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli now has 49 ODI Centuries, the same amount as Sachin Tendulkar (Image via ESPN)
I am a huge fan of Virat, I have been for a long time, and he continues to show why he has to go down as one of the all-time greats, right up there with the likes of the great Sachin
Sir Vivian Richards to ICC

He commented on his rough patch, saying despite people calling for his head he never gave up and that made Richards a huge fan. Kohli also commented that one of his greatest moments in his career was when he scored his first Test double century in front of Richards in the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

In case you missed!