Ex-Indian Cricketer Feels World Cricket Won’t Ever Find an All-Format Player Like Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has been firmly in the Orange Cap race in IPL 2026, having scored 379 runs in nine matches so far, at a strike-rate of 165.50.

Ex-Indian Cricketer Feels World Cricket Won’t Ever Find an All-Format Player Like Virat Kohli

Dinesh Karthik called Virat Kohli the greatest 'all-format' player. (via X)

In Short
  • Dinesh Karthik describes Virat Kohli as a 'once-in-a-generation' player and unlikely to be replicated.
  • Kohli is recognized for dominating all three formats of cricket, achieving No.1 rankings by the ICC.
  • Babar Azam omitted both Kohli and Rohit Sharma from his World ODI XI selection, surprising many fans.

Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli’s former RCB teammate, recently bestowed a new honor upon the veteran icon by calling him a ‘once-in-a-generation’ player. Karthik’s comments centered on a discussion about the mastery of all-format batting, with Kohli as a reference.

The former wicket-keeper batter was speaking to Mayanti Langer on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru podcast. Karthik was a part of RCB’s dugout last summer, when the team won its maiden IPL title. Before becoming a coach, he was a player up until IPL 2024, scoring 326 runs in 15 matches during his final tournament season, with an average of 36.22, a strike-rate of 187.36, and two half-centuries.

During his recent conversation, Langer questioned him about the skills required to succeed in all three game formats. To this, the 40-year-old former cricketer responded by suggesting that there is too much variation across formats, and playing each one of them requires different skillsets.

He explained it with the example of batting in Tests and T20s, and added that very few have succeeded. Karthik on the RCB podcast:

What it takes to do well in T20 is the complete polar opposite skills compared to what is required to do well in Test cricket. I don’t think there will be too many ‘all-format’ batters or bowlers that will exist.

As the anchor mentioned Virat Kohli, Karthik agreed, suggesting that there will not be another player like the 37-year-old, and that he will be remembered in ‘folktales’. His remarks on Kohli are justified, with the right-hander among the few players to have dominated all three formats – Tests, ODIs, and T20Is, simultaneously. Kohli is, in fact, among the only players to have been ranked No.1 across all three formats by the ICC at various points in his career.

You’re not going to find another Virat Kohli, I can promise you that. That is one for the folklore. – Karthik on the greatest all-format player.

In ODIs, Kohli has scored over 14,700, with a world-record 54 hundreds, and is widely regarded as ‘Chasemaster’. This dominant performance is mirrored in his Test career, where the Indian batting legend concluded with 9,230 runs from 123 matches, featuring 30 hundreds. Kohli remodeled himself in the shortest format of the game and retired with over 4,100 international runs, and was even named the T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament twice, in 2014 and 2016.

Dinesh Karthik also spoke about Kohli’s ‘stubborn’ nature and his willingness to reinvent his game. Inside the RCB dressing room, the 40-year-old stressed the advantage U-19 players such as Vihaan Malhotra and Kanishk Chauhan have in learning from Kohli.

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Shock omissions: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma ignored as Babar Azam picks his World ODI XI

Babar Azam was asked to pick his players, whom he thinks would make it to the current world ODI XI. The 31-year-old surprisingly did not choose a single Indian player, even leaving out the likes of some of the format’s greatest, like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. 

Babar Azam leave out Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
Babar Azam surprisingly omitted Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from his World ODI XI. (via NDTV Sports)

The Pakistani cricketer notably left out Kohli, who is second on the list of all-time run-getters in the 50-over format. The Indian batting star has scored 14,797 runs in ODIs, at an average of 58.71, including 54 hundreds and 77 fifties. Another notable omission was Rohit Sharma, India’s former captain, who is just behind Kohli in terms of runs scored in ODIs. Sharma is the only player with three double-hundreds.

Azam’s picks were surprising, as he chose to go with Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head as the openers, followed by Aiden Markram at no.3. He then picked teammate Mohammad Rizwan at no.4, and slotted in Rachin Ravindra at no.5. Azam went ahead with Harry Brook at no.6, before picking Mitchell Santner and Rashid Khan as the all-rounders. In bowling, he chose Jofra Archer, Shaheen Afridi and Kagiso Rabada.

Among his notable omissions was Kiwi all-rounder Daryl Mitchell, who is ranked the No.1 batter in the ODIs. Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc were the other players he chose to ignore, despite their status as one of the most feared bowlers in the format.

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