Is Virat Kohli yet the greatest? ICC’s question opens up the debate

A day after handing over a number of coveted prizes to India captain Virat Kohli, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday asked the cricketing world whether the ace cricketer has established himself as the ‘Greatest of All Time’ (GOAT). The 30-year-old, who recently led India to their first Test series win in Australia, added three feathers to his crown by winning Sir Garfield Sobers Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year awards.

Even though Kohli became the first cricketer on the planet to achieve such enormous feats, the debate over whether he is the greatest is far from settled. While some fans still believe that the tag of the ‘greatest’ still goes to the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Sir Donald Bradman, others are of the opinion that Kohli is already the greatest.

The ace batsman is in the middle of a phenomenal run both with the bat and captaincy and particularly had a super successful 2018 – a year in which he slammed 11 centuries in Tests and ODIs combined. In the 50-over format, Kohli batted at an average of 133.55 in the year that just went by.

Kohli inching closer to breaking Tendulkar’s record in batting & Dhoni in captaincy

Virat Kohli is now just 10 centuries short of the great Tendulkar in the ODIs and has played a much less number of games to reach there. Last year, he broke Tendulkar’s record as the quickest batsman to reach 10,000 runs in the 50-over format. He is also just one win short of equalling MS Dhoni’s record of becoming India’s most successful captain in Tests.

Meanwhile, the debate about the greatest player resumed as soon as the ICC came up with the question of whether Kohli is indeed the GOAT and the fans came up with all sorts of reactions.

Here’s ICC’s tweet:

Ok. Virat did sweep the #ICCAwards this week, but is he really in GOAT territory yet @Twitter? 👀 https://t.co/KvHX96dvr0

— ICC (@ICC) January 23, 2019

Here’s how fans reacted:

Ofcourse he is…

— Swapnil Raj (@jaiswapnil) January 23, 2019

@imVkohli is a Tiger in GOAT territory #ICCAwards2018

— Cassim (@Cassim4u) January 23, 2019

I thought he became G.O.A.T on 24 October 2018 😉 (Reached 10k Odi rums)

— Faisal फैसल فیصل (@faisal337_) January 23, 2019

G.O.A.T indeed

— Aravind (@imvArvind) January 23, 2019

No doubt
He is an unparalleled GOAT

— AASHISH (@ro_aashish19) January 24, 2019

Greatest Ever 🐐 pic.twitter.com/LhDXCM29Gj

— Atul Tyagi Viratian (@AtulViratian) January 24, 2019

He is a G.O.A.T🐐 No one will bag all award in 1 year..🔥 @imVkohli many more comes yo you💪

— Manchu🔥 (@mansoormanchu76) January 23, 2019

Your awards mean nothing. He's the GOAT.

— Stephen Edwin (@StephenEdwin4) January 23, 2019

He is not just the GOAT…..
….He is the KING GOAT !!! 👑🐐

— Im_BATMAN (@sushant_SK6) January 23, 2019

Ever heard of degrees of comparison? There can be many greats but only one can be the greatest.

— Mediocre Poet (@mediocre_poet_) January 23, 2019

If you go by stats, yes would end up as GOAT….quality well that is debatable…cant blame virat for not so high quality opposition bowlers.

— amith pillai (@15amithrp) January 24, 2019

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