Virat Kohli reminds me of Imran Khan: Shastri

Indian skipper Virat Kohli was in phenominal form on the tour of South Africa. He not only broke a plethora of records with the bat but also led his team from the front in the entire series. Stellar performance across formats helped the 29-year-old gather praises from all quarters. Even team coach Ravi Shastri was vocal in praising Virat over his leadership skills and batting display on daunting South Africa tour.

New Delhi: Indian skipper Virat Kohli was in phenominal form on the tour of South Africa. He not only broke a plethora of records with the bat but also led his team from the front in the entire series. Stellar performance across formats helped the 29-year-old gather praises from all quarters. Even team coach Ravi Shastri was vocal in praising Virat over his leadership skills and batting display on daunting South Africa tour.

In a recent interview Ravi Shastri once again lauded the skipper and revealed that Virat reminded him of legendary Pakistan's World Cup winning captain Imran Khan.

"It's still early days for Virat. He is still very very young. But he is already there among the very best. He wants to lead by example. He reminds me a lot of Imran. He is still very young but he has got lot of qualities that Imran had when it came to leading a side. Which is great," Shastri told Anandabazar Patrika.

The swashbuckling right-hander, rated as one of the best in modern day cricket finished with 558 runs becoming the first batsman ever to score 500 or more runs in a bilateral ODI series. When asked about the similarities, Shastri said that apart from the desire to always be on top, the energy levels on and off the field made him draw the comparison.

"Just the ability to always want to dominate, want to compete, irrespective of whatever conditions you get, believe that you can do it and when you have that kind of quality it spreads among the other players as well. And that was very similar to the way Imran led. I think he was fantastic on the last trip. It was a tough trip," Shastri said

The aggression with which Virat led his side also became one of the hot talking point in the series. Many former cricketers were critical of the aggression with which Virat led his side. Slamming them Shastri advised the critics is to mind their own business.

"I will keep it very simple. Whoever is saying that, mind your own business. Let us get on with our job. I think he is absolutely fine. If there was a problem, the umpires are there. The match-referee is there to sort it out. What are they there for? He is hardly been called by the match-referee for going over the top in his career. So where is the problem?" Shastri added.