Virat Kohli best across all formats, there aren’t many who can parallel him: Zaheer Abbas

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Former Pakistan player Zaheer Abbas heaped praises on Team India skipper Virat Kohli and hailed him as the best batsman across formats.

However, Abbas claimed that Australia's Steve Smith is more consistent than Kohli in Test cricket.

"But yeah, Steve Smith is more consistent than Kohli in Test cricket. He scores in almost every series he plays. Even the other Australian — David Warner — has been doing well," Abbas told The Telegraph.

Kohli and Smith are the two big names in world cricket at the moment, Smith is currently top-ranked batsman in Test cricket with Kohli on second. Meanwhile, the Indian skipper is leading the ODI batsman rankings with Smith nowhere in top 10.

Abbas further went onto claim that Kohli is more consistent in all three formats which makes him the best in the business.

"But as I said, a batsman needs to perform in all formats and in that sense, Kohli is more consistent in the other versions as well," he said.

"If you want to establish yourself as the top batsman in world cricket, you have to be consistent in all formats. That’s fundamental."

The former Pakistan batsman also feels that at the moment there are not many players who are parallel to Kohli.

"Waise bhi bahut hi zyaada cricket khelte hai Indian team (In any case, the Indian team plays too much of cricket). A top player like Kohli too is a part of most of those matches, and he can’t get bored too because that’s his profession and has given him so much.

“Just look at what Kohli has achieved over the years… Also, he is not a machine. Even a machine sometimes mal-functions.

“At this moment, there aren’t many who can parallel Kohli,” he said.

Abbas also said that terming a player an all-time great is not fair due to evolution of cricket at regular intervals.

“See, the game has evolved so much. It has also differed in different eras. The kind of cricket we see now is not the same as it used to be during our times or some years later. So from that perspective, I don’t think you can call anyone as an all-time great player. This kind of comparison is not fair,” the legendary batsman said.