"Would rate this as his best year" - Venkatesh Prasad hails Virat Kohli for sensational 2023 season

Former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad has hailed Virat Kohli for his magnificent performances with the bat this year, calling it his best-ever season.

Following a hattrick of seasons averaging under 40 in 2020, 2021, and 2022, the 35-year-old averaged a stellar 66.06 across formats in 2023. Kohli also smashed an incredible eight centuries this year and finished as the second-highest scorer behind Shubman Gill with 2,048 runs.

He also became the fastest to 13,000 ODI runs and the first to 50 centuries in the format, overtaking Sachin Tendulkar in both categories.

In a Q&A session on his Twitter handle, Prasad praised Kohli for his incredible return to form this year.

"He has proved again that he is a champion and the best batsman of this generation, been a phenomenal year for him," Prasad said. "Would rate this as his best year, especially since it had come after a couple of difficult years for him. That hunger and zeal was refreshing and sign of a true champion that Virat is."

The champion batter is currently involved in India's two-Test series in South Africa and was their best batter in the opening game. Kohli scored 38 and 76 on a bowler-friendly Centurion track during India's defeat by an innings and 32 runs.

Virat Kohli also featured in Venkatesh Prasad's best 5 performances of 2023

The great batsman reached stratospheric heights during the 2023 World Cup.

Venkatesh Prasad also picked Virat Kohli's overall 2023 World Cup campaign among his five standout performances of the year.

The 35-year-old was the top-scorer in the 2023 World Cup with a single edition record of 765 runs in 11 games at an average of 95.62, leading to him winning the Player of the Tournament.

The former pacer also picked fellow Indian pacer Mohammed Shami's overall 2023 World Cup display as one of his five best performances. Shami picked up a remarkable 24 wickets in only seven games at an average of 10.70, including three five-wicket hauls.

Prasad picked three other single-game performances from two Australian players, Glenn Maxwell and Travis Head. The former's 201* off 128 balls in an improbable run chase of 292 against Afghanistan from 91/7 and the latter's heroics in the World Test Championship (WTC) and ODI World Cup final rounded off the list.

Both of Head's sublime centuries in the summit clashes came at the expense of the Indians. The 30-year-old smashed a scintillating 163 in the first innings of the WTC final to help Australia record a 209-run win. He followed that with a 120-ball 137 in the World Cup final to propel Australia to their sixth title.