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Former India batter Virender Sehwag has labelled Virat Kohli as the greatest cricketer to ever play the sport. Since making his India debut in 2008, Kohli has carried the weight of Team India’s batting across formats. So far, he has payed 117 Tests, 292 ODIs and 113 T20Is, amassing more than 26,000 international runs. The 35-year-old has been often compared to Sachin Tendulkar, while many have suggested that he is the greatest all-format batter of his generation. Last year during the ODI World Cup in India, Kohli broke Tendulkar’s record of most ODI centuries.

Kohli smashed 117 against New Zealand in the World Cup semi-final to register his 50th ODI century, one more than Tendulkar’s.

During an interaction with Sports Tak, Sehwag was asked to describe Kohli in one word. He went to call him the “greatest cricketer”.

Meanwhile, Kohli has been out of action since the T20I series against Afghanistan in January 2024.

Kohli, 35, had initially withdrawn from the India team for the first two Tests of the series, citing personal reasons but later it was announced that he will miss out on the entire five-match series.

On his absence, BCCI secretary Jay Shah backed Virat Kohli’s decision to miss India’s ongoing Test series against England, saying he has the right to ask for personal leave.

“If a person, for the first time in a 15-year career, asks for personal leave, it’s his right. Virat is not a player who will ask for leave for no reason. We need to trust our player and back him,” Shah was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. The Board fully respects and supports Mr. Kohli’s decision,” said a statement from the board.

Meanwhile, when the BCCI secretary was asked whether Kohli would be part of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in June, Shah replied: “We will talk about him [soon].”

(With ANI Inputs)