After a lean patch followed by a stunning comeback, we ask whether Virat Kohli has reclaimed his throne as the undisputed king of batting across all formats.
Cricket debates rarely come more heated than the question of who is the best batter on the planet. For much of the 2010s, Virat Kohli answered it himself — through sheer weight of runs, consistency in every condition, and a hunger that bordered on obsession.
His 2022-23 comeback silenced a generation of doubters. After a prolonged dry spell of centuries, he returned with a vengeance, smashing an ODI World Cup that ended in heartbreak but included perhaps the finest individual tournament batting performance of the modern era.
The metrics speak clearly. Over 50 ODI centuries. A Test average that has hovered above 50 for over a decade. The rare ability to adapt — whether grinding on green English tops or flaying spinners on a Chepauk turner. Kohli has never needed conditions to favour him; he has always made them irrelevant.
Detractors point to his recent T20 retirement and the occasional lull against high-quality seam bowling outside off stump. But these are footnotes. When he walks to the crease, opposition bowlers still feel the shift in atmosphere. Captains rearrange their plans. Crowds hold their breath.
Is Kohli still the best? The evidence says yes — and until someone strings together a comparable body of work across all three formats over all conditions, the throne remains his.
