Kohli will be among 10 greatest players in history, says Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev is being presented a memento by Khaleej Times Director Suhail Galadari. Also seen is Ajay Sethi of Channel 2 FM. (KT photos by Kiran Prasad)

Cricket writers may have run out of adjectives for run machine Virat Kohli, but Kapil Dev knows where the current Indian superstar will end up once he decides to hang up his bat.
"In my opinion, Virat can become one of the 10 greatest cricketers of all time. He will be there when he ends his career," Kapil, one of the greatest all-rounders in history, responded when Khaleej Times asked him if Kohli has already become an all-time great.
"The way he plays T20s, ODIs and Tests, it's amazing. He is averaging above 50 in all three formats. So hats off to him," the former India captain added.
Kapil then revealed what has impressed him the most about Kohli. "I think it's his attitude and fitness," the World Cup-winning captain said.
"Indian players have never been known for their fitness. But he is one cricketer who is really giving so much importance to fitness. You know that has allowed him to take his cricket so high. You can only admire him. I think he is also very determined and he knows his talent and he is utilising it so well."
Kapil is not surprised by Kohli's epic run with the bat in the bowler-dominated Test series in England - a country where he failed miserably in 2014.
"When you are a big player, you are expected to play well even in countries you haven't played well in the past," he said.
"See, anybody can go through a bad patch. It happens in cricket all the time. But the class was always there. And he showed that. "Yes, he didn't play well in the last series in England, but he looked a totally different player this time. You do get mature, you understand your weakness and you try to overcome that. And that's what Virat has done so well in England."

Kapli says Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of the best swing bowlers in the world
But Kapil, India's greatest fast bowler, admits that seeing the rise of India's current pace bowlers makes him even happier.
"It's good to see these Indian fast bowlers doing so well. If anybody gets injured, we still have another quality bowler to replace the injured bowler. That's the strength of our fast bowling department now," he said.
"We never had that in the past. Ishant (Sharma), (Mohammed) Shami and (Jasprit) Bumrah have been bowling so well. And don't forget Umesh (Yadav).
"So it's a very happy moment for me to talk about Indian fast bowling.
"Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) is one of the best swing bowlers in the world. He is not in the team so you can just say that because of the fast bowlers the Indian team is looking much better - even though results have not been as good as we expected. But in future the team will do well abroad."
And the Indian team, according to Kapil, can still do well in the Asia Cup in the UAE this month despite Kohli deciding to take rest.
"I expect India to do well. Yes, we don't have Kohli. But you can't win a championship depending on one player. You have to play like a team to win a championship," he said.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com