Could Virat Kohli be the GOAT? Rudraneil Sengupta breaks it down

He could soon surpass Tendulkar’s 49 ODI centuries. But it’s not the stats. Kohli plays the field in a way that belongs in chess, and is rarely seen in cricket.

To witness a Virat Kohli chase unfold is one of the great pleasures and privileges of being a sports fan.

Kohli went past 26,000 runs in international cricket faster than anyone in history. At this World Cup, he has made 354 runs across just five games, an average of 118. (AP)

There is perhaps nothing in contemporary sport quite like it, so the comparisons need to be drawn from history: Roger Federer gliding through the Wimbledon grass; Rafael Nadal screeching through the red dust of Roland Garros; Xavi, Iniesta and Messi weaving tiki-taka magic at peak Barcelona; the late great Jonah Lomu’s balletic bulldozing acts for the All Blacks rugby team;