Virat Kohli is white-ball cricket's greatest, still good enough for Tests: Ravi Shastri

Former India captain and head coach Ravi Shastri has reiterated his belief that Virat Kohli is the greatest white-ball cricketer of all time, heaping praise on the ease with which the India batter dominated New Zealand in the first ODI in Auckland on Wednesday, November 4. Shastri also believes Kohli still has what it takes to play Test cricket, pointing to his exceptional fitness and the remarkable consistency of his game.

Kohli was a cut above the rest as he struck 13 boundaries and a six in his 51-ball 74 at Eden Park, on a surface that offered plenty of assistance to the New Zealand fast bowlers. After India bowled out the hosts for 185 in 40.2 overs, Rohit Sharma fell early in the chase. Shubman Gill and Kohli then put together a 113-run stand for the second wicket, with the latter taking charge as the innings progressed.

It was an innings that stood out not just for the runs Kohli scored, but for the manner in which he scored them. While several Indian batters struggled to come to terms with the bounce and movement on offer, Kohli appeared to be operating on a different surface.

Shastri was particularly impressed by the control and fluency Kohli displayed, calling it one of the finest innings he had seen from the former India captain in recent years.

"I think this is as good as he's ever batted in these conditions. On this kind of track, not to put a foot wrong, to play with that kind of fluency and authority is not easy. This is as good an innings as he would have played in probably the last seven, eight, ten years, if I may say so. He took batting to another level there. For everyone else, it was a different pitch, and that's what great players can do. He is probably the greatest white-ball player of all time," Shastri told Sony Sports. Take a bow, King Kohli Watch #NZvIND 1st ODI LIVE on #SonySportsNetwork and #SonyLIV https://t.co/L6MueJhKji— Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) November 4, 2026

"When you look at his stats, the number of runs he's got, how quickly he's got them, the number of hundreds he's got, the number of matches he wins in a chase, and then he bats like that, classic batsman," he added.HOW KOHLI TOOK CONTROL IN AUCKLAND

Kohli did not have the most fluent of starts. Kyle Jamieson, using his height to extract extra bounce, made life difficult for the Indian batters, and Kohli was initially content to assess the conditions rather than force the pace.

He was 29 off 27 balls before the second rain interruption in India's chase. But once play resumed, he found his rhythm, brought up his half-century off 35 deliveries and began to take the attack to New Zealand.

Blair Tickner bore the brunt of that acceleration. Kohli had already pulled the New Zealand pacer for a six, but it was his response to a barrage of short deliveries in Tickner's next over that particularly caught the eye. He put away all three short balls for boundaries, adjusting his shots to the height and trajectory of each delivery.

Shastri pointed out that Kohli's ability to pick his moments, coupled with his running between the wickets, keeps bowlers under constant pressure.

"He targets the first or second ball of an over, like we saw a lot of times today, and then gets off strike. He's such a good runner between the wickets that the pressure is on the bowler all the time. He doesn't get too many deliveries to bowl to Kohli. It's not like six balls, five balls in an over. He'll hit you for a couple of boundaries, he's off strike, looks after the other guy. That's it," Shastri said.

That ability to control the tempo of an innings has been one of Kohli's defining strengths in ODI cricket. He can take time to settle, keep the scoreboard moving through singles and twos, and then shift gears when the opportunity presents itself. In Auckland, he did all of that without appearing hurried.'HE CAN STILL PERFORM IN TEST CRICKET'

Kohli's retirement from Test cricket midway through the IPL 2025 season had come as a surprise. He had endured a difficult tour of Australia earlier that year, but had also returned to domestic cricket, turning out for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy in January 2025 after more than a decade away from the competition.

His decision to walk away from the longest format, followed by Rohit Sharma's retirement within days, marked the end of an era for Indian cricket. However, Shastri believes Kohli still has the physical capacity and the game to compete at the highest level in Test cricket.

"You go and ask international players, the top players, they will say, 'We want him to play Test cricket'. There is no question. He will still perform, because his fitness levels are so high that he makes it look easy. It's not something that he is putting in extra effort for. It's just muscle memory and work ethic. It's just special," Shastri said.

Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris also expressed disappointment at Kohli's decision to retire from Tests, arguing that the batter remains among the best in the world despite now playing only one international format.

"I can't understand [why people were] disappointed when Virat announced his retirement. And I must say, I think I'm in that same boat, like everybody. Because when you're playing like this, he's still in the conversation for the best batsman in the world, even though he's playing one format now," Styris said.

Styris also pointed to the affection Kohli commands among fans, recalling how spectators remained in the stands during the rain interruption in Auckland.

"You ask the question: when it rained, why did the crowd stay? Because they don't know whether this is the last time they're going to watch Virat Kohli at Eden Park. And you'll see the same at all the venues for these one-dayers. People will come because they want the opportunity to watch arguably the greatest player," he said.

For now, Kohli's focus will be on carrying his form through the remainder of the New Zealand tour. The second ODI will be played in Wellington on Saturday, November 7.

With 626 runs from just 10 ODIs in 2026, at an average of 69.55 and a strike rate of 120.61, Kohli has already put together an impressive calendar year. He will have three more ODIs against Sri Lanka at home later in the year, giving him an opportunity to push towards another 1,000-run season.- Ends