Virat Kohli right at the top of cricket; Cristiano Ronaldo right at the top of football: Kevin Pietersen

Former English cricketer Kevin Pietersen has compared former India captain Virat Kohli with legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of quality, adding that both are at the peak of their game.

Kohli, who had been going through a rough phase in his career, finally broke the curse when he brought up his first half-century of the IPL 2022 during the game against the Gujarat Titans on April 30. The 33-year-old managed to put up a 53-ball 58 before being dismissed in the first innings. His knock went in vain as RCB eventually lost the game, but Pietersen felt that it was a major breakthrough for the vibrant cricketer, looking at how he had been going in the tournament.

“What he (Kohli) needs to do is to have a look at Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo. Two similar brands in their different teams and in their sports. You have Virat Kohli right at the top of cricket, his brand is right at the top of cricket. Cristiano Ronaldo is right at the top of football,” said Pietersen on Star Sports.

Virat Kohli is my greatest batter in this country: Kevin Pietersen

“One plays for Manchester United, and one plays for RCB and India. Those are big brands and they are going to be talking points. Those big brands also want to maintain their status in the game by winning. Virat Kohli’s greatest attribute, how many games he has won for India while chasing. Virat Kohli is my greatest batter in this country because he has won so many games for India chasing. That is something you look at, that is something he cherishes and is so proud of,” he added.

Kohli has 186 runs in 10 games in IPL 2022 so far and his average still remains to be low at 20.67. He will look to carry the momentum into the next game when RCB goes up against the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday (May 4). Pietersen also felt that Kohli would be ‘fuming’ that his knock in the last game did not prove useful for his team.

“This knock (against GT), he would be looking and thinking some beautiful shots, absolutely fantastic shots and I felt good. But I know he is a champion, he is a winner and I know that he would be fuming that those weren’t enough for the win,” he said.

Check out our latest analysis report of IPL Match Prediction between RCB vs CSK on 4th May 2022.