Mickey Arthur says he sits and watches Virat Kohli bat when he comes to the crease

In the year 2016, if there was one batsman who has certainly taken his game to a different level, it is India’s Virat Kohli. The 28-year-old batsman has been a prolific run-getter across the three formats of the game and is one of the lynchpins of the side.

A lot of fellow cricketers and others have praised Kohli’s ability to churn out consistent scores and joining that ever growing list is Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur, who has revealed that Kohli was one batsman, for whom he would take out time to sit and watch the right-hander bat.

“I love watching Virat... He's phenomenal and is one batsman I sit down and watch whenever he comes to the crease. He's right up there with the best I've seen... I still recall his 141 in the second innings of the Adelaide Test almost two years ago. He'd got a hundred (115) in the first innings as well,” Arthur told in an interview to the Telegraph.

Those two innings from Kohli, especially the one in the second innings, really made the supporters of the game stand up and take note of him as a batsman and had it not been for a mistimed pull towards the fag end of Day five, he could have helped India pull off a sensational win on Australian soil.

“As I've said, Virat's phenomenal... So is AB de Villiers... Joe Root is very good and David Warner's fantastic. Having made a mark first in the T20 format, Warner had the shots. He'd lacked a good defence. Not so now... Indeed, after the early years, he's taken his game to another level. I'm an admirer of Warner and follow his performances,” he said.

At the end of that series, Kohli took over in full capacity as India captain after MS Dhoni announced his Test retirement at the end of the Melbourne Test and speaking about the former’s leadership qualities. Arthur felt that he brought a certain level o exuberance to his captaincy and is really passionate about leading India.

“Virat's an interesting captain... He's exuberant and very passionate about what he does. His passion for the top job comes through in abundance,” the former South African and Australian coach said.

Ever since taking over as India captain in Tests, Kohli has won Test series vs Sri Lanka and West Indies away from home and also beaten South Africa and New Zealand convincingly on home turf.

He and his team are at present on a 13-match unbeaten streak in Tests and with a five-match Test series coming up at home in November, he will look to further extend that run and hopefully, end the year on a high.