Cricket / Ben Stokes claims Virat Kohli will go down as one of the greatest across formats

Cricket | England all-rounder Ben Stokes on Tuesday heaped praise on Virat Kohli, saying the former India captain will be known as 'one of the greatest players of all time' across formats. Announcing his retirement from One Day International cricket on Monday, Stokes said that he is unable to give his all in all formats and wants to focus solely on Tests and T20Is.

Virat Kohli also congratulated Stokes on his retirement and wrote, "You are the most competitive player I have ever played against. Respect." Stokes played his last One Day International match against South Africa in Durham. In this match, the host England team got a crushing defeat. Earlier, Stokes gave a statement on Sky Sports on his decision and Virat Kohli's comment.

“He is well known as one of the greatest players of all time across all formats. I have loved him every time I have played against him. The energy and commitment he gives, I have always admired him. When you play against such people you understand what it means at the top level. Hopefully we will be pitted against each other in the future as well. Nice to hear their comments."

Right-handed batsman Virat Kohli has so far scored over 23,000 runs in all three formats of international cricket. He averages over 50 in ODIs and T20I cricket and has recently dropped to 49.53 in Tests due to poor form. Talking about the hectic schedule in international cricket these days across all formats, Stokes said that players are not like cars.