Virat Kohli way ahead of his contemporaries - Kumar Sangakkara

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 12 - Sri Lanka's legend Kumar Sangakkara claimed that the 30-year-old Indian captain, Virat Kohli, is well ahead of his contemporaries and destined for greatness.

"Everything about Virat's game stands out. I think he is head and shoulders above anyone else in world cricket today," Sangakkara told a news channel.

"And I think going forward, he will be one of the greatest ever cricketers, if not the greatest ever" he added.

With 39 centuries from 222 one-day matches, Kohli is second only to God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 49 from 463, in the 50-over century makers' list.

Kohli won the International Cricket Council's (ICC) cricketer, Test and ODI player of the year awards last month.

"He is a very passionate guy, you see that in his expressions on the field... it's the overall aspect of both the person and how he has sorted his batting and his attitude," he added.

Virat Kohli recently led India to historic Test and One-day International (ODI) bilateral series win in Australia, followed by a biggest-ever victory in an ODI series in New Zealand. He was given rest from recently concluded T20 series against Blackcaps.