Sanjay Manjrekar picks Vivian Richards as the greatest ODI batter of all time

Sir Viv Richards [Source: Twitter]

Modern-day batting maestro Virat Kohli is fingertips away from breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 One-Day International (ODI) tons, sitting comfortably at 46. 

Kohli, yet to hit form in the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand, has played 270 matches and scored 12,773 runs at an excellent average of 57.79, worth being called one of the greats.

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar also thinks Kohli is among the greatest, like Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. 

However, speaking to Star Sports, Manjrekar addressed legendary West Indian Sir Vivian Richards as the best one-day batter above Kohli or even Tendulkar, while maintaining that comparison between past and present players is not easy.

Here's what Manjrekar said

"When you look at the modern era, in the last 20 years or so, Virat Kohli is right up there. Tendulkar also one of the time all-time greats. Virat Kohli, in my book just fits in as a pure one-day player. MS Dhoni is another player that comes to my mind. But, all-time one-day batter, there is nobody who can get close to Sir Vivian Richards."

In 187 ODIs between 1975 and 1991, Richards scored 6,721 runs at an average of 47, including a World Cup-winning knock in the 1979 edition. He was ahead of his time in limited-overs cricket and is hailed as the finest-ever batter by many. 

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