Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said that Virat Kohli has “changed the game” already with his levels of fitness. McCullum, who has retired from international cricket but is still active in the Big Bash league, said that Kohli “is a freak.” “You look at his impact on one-day cricket, Test cricket, T20 cricket – all around the world, different conditions. And it’s just effortless as well,” McCullum was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

McCullum said that it’d be “pretty hard to go past Virat Kohli” if one is looking for batsmen to play in all conditions. “If we look at Indian cricket over a period of time, they’ve always been immensely talented, but just with the high intensity he operates at on a consistent basis, he’s taken that to a new level through his professionalism and his fitness,” he said, “And I think you’ve seen a whole raft of cricketers since he’s come on as captain as well really take that in their stride, and the IPL has been a catalyst for that as well.”

McCullum also praised Kohli’s ability to stay competitive without stepping over the line. “He’s an out-and-out superstar and he plays the game in the right way – he plays it hard on the field but he never really crosses the line, unless challenged in a different way,” he said, “But he’s an absolute superstar and I think the game is lucky to have him.”

Kohli-led India sealed a series victory over England after defeating them by an innings and 36 runs largely on the back of knocks from Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli and Jayant Yadav. Kohli scored 235 runs in India’s innings, his highest score in Tests. It was his third double century of the year, thus equalling a record held by Brendon McCullum, Don Bradman and Ricky Ponting for the most Test double hundreds in a calendar year.

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