New Delhi: Windies batting great Brian Lara believes team India skipper Virat Kohli is the cricketing version of mega football star Cristiano Ronaldo, because of his outstanding commitment towards the game, even though a K L Rahul can consider himself at par with the India captain in terms of talent.

"I think it has got a lot to do with Virat's outstanding commitment besides his preparation. I don't think he is any more talented than a KL Rahul or a Rohit Sharma but his commitment to prepare himself properly stands out. He is, for me, the cricketing equivalent of Cristiano Ronaldo," Lara told PTI during an exclusive interaction.

"His fitness level and his mental strength is unbelievable."

The 50-year-old Lara also said Kohli can fit into the best teams of any era.

"His batting skills are unbelievable. He is a guy you cannot leave out in any era. If a guy is averaging 50 plus in all versions of the game, then that is something which is unheard of," the legend said.

According to the latest ICC Test Rankings for batsmen released on Monday, Kohli dethroned Steve Smith as the number one Test batsman to attain number one position in the rankings. The Indian skipper reached 928 points, and is now 17 points ahead of the Aussie star batsman.

Another player Lara praised was English all-rounder Ben Stokes, who emerged as a national hero in World Cup 2019 and had a memorable Ashes series this summer. Stokes played a heroic Ashes-saving unbeaten 135 at Headingley.

"It was an unbelievable innings that he played. You must give him the credit not only for that innings but also for his 84 not out in the ODI World Cup final. He came up through a very rough period couple of years back (Bristol pub brawl and subsequent suspension) and he has shown the mettle to put things aside and soldiered on as a cricketer."