Virat Kohli, India s most impactful player in ODIs this decade: Gavaskar
New Delhi, Dec 10 (UNI) Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Thursday said that Virat Kohli has been the most impactful player in ODIs for India this decade, considering the number of matches that he has won for the country during the time span.
Kohli, who made his India debut in 2008, has so far played 251 ODIs for India in which he has scored 12,040 runs with the help of 43 hundreds.
In the recent ODI series against Australia, India skipper became the fastest batsman to go past 12,000 run-mark milestone. He broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record and reached the milestone in his 251st game. The Master Blaster had taken 300 innings to get to 12,000 runs in ODIs.
'I think if you look as an individual, then certainly it’s got to be Virat Kohli, because if you look at the number of matches he’s won for India when India has been chasing big scores,' Gavaskar said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.
'I look at the impact a player has had, and not just the runs or wickets that he has taken, and in that aspect, you have got to say that in this decade it really has been Virat Kohli who has had the most impact on the matches that India has won,' he added.
However, former Australian opener Matthew Hayden feels it is Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been the most impactful player in ODIs for India in this decade, due to the number of ICC trophies he has won during his stint as captain.
Dhoni remains the only skipper in world cricket to have won all 3 ICC trophies - T20 World Cup in 2007, 50-over World Cup in 2011 and Champions Trophy in 2013.
He retired from international on August 15 this year after having played 90 Tests, 350 ODIs and 98 T20Is for India during an illustrious career which lasted nearly 15 years.
Dhoni, who made his debut in Bangladesh in 2004, amassed 4876 runs in the longest format, 10773 in 50-over cricket and 1617 in the shortest form for the national team.
'I think it’s really important and significant that MS Dhoni has won a World Cup and a Champions Trophy. That World Cup for me, that’s a real big milestone,' said Hayden.
'I have mentioned it before we have played loads of cricket in the one-day format and I just feel that when it comes to being ready for a World Cup, you not only got to have a good leader but you also need to have a calm strong player in the middle order like he has,' he added.
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