Former West Indies batter Viv Richards says this is what sets Virat Kohli apart from others

West Indies cricket legend Viv Richards has said that Virat Kohli's mental strength is what sets the Indian playerapart from others in the game. Richards said that Kohli has backed himself to perform well through tough times and the results are visible now for everyone to see.

The India batter has been on song in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 with 543 runs in eight matches so far - the most for India and third most overall. Kohli has also hit two centuries in the quadrennial tournament and equaled former India player Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI hundreds.

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"Virat is a go-getter and what sets him apart is his mental strength. He will have backed himself throughout, and on the occasions in the past in which I have chatted with him and we have discussed things, his mental strength has always been evident.

“That has been key to pushing him through to how he is playing now. Very few players, or people, are built like that,” Richards told the ICC.

"Virat will have been through some tough times before this World Cup and some folks were even brave enough to call for his head.

"There have been a whole host of talented individuals on show but to top them all, you cannot look past Virat Kohli," he added.

Until last year, Kohli was going through a rough patch with no hundreds for three years from 2019, but he came back emphatically to show he's one of the modern greats.

Richards also acknowledged that he's a huge fan of Virat and loves his enthusiasm on the field.

“I am a huge fan of Virat, I have been for a long time, and he continues to show why he has to go down as one of the all-time greats, right up there with the likes of the great Sachin.”

“Many people have made comparisons between the two of us over the years, partly because of our shared intensity on the field. I love Virat's enthusiasm -- even if he is fielding at long-on or long-off, when one of his bowlers hits the pad, he is appealing. He is always in the game and I like individuals like that,” said Richards.