‘Kohli is as good as it gets’

Pieterson dismissed comparisons made between Virat Kohli and English batsman Joe Root in a section of the English press. He said Virat Kohli is going through a purple patch in all formats of the game and is in a different league. 

“Kohli is as good as it gets. He is right up there. Root has good numbers, but it’s unfair to even compare Joe with Virat because his numbers are just phenomenal. He plays so aggressively — sometimes it's like — are you serious? The way he makes big runs for his team so often is just remarkable,” Kevin Pietersen was quoted as saying by ‘The Cricketer’ magazine. 

With most touring teams failing to handle spin in sub-continent conditions, Pietersen had a piece of advice for the young English batters, who will be up against the formidable combo of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and left-armer Ravindra Jadeja alongside leggie Amit Mishra. The 36-year-old said that England should watch out for the doosra from the Chennai offie, who can single-handedly change the course of a match in Indian conditions. 

At home, Ashwin has been in incredible form, picking up 153 wickets in 22 Tests. His 27 wickets helped India score a 3-0 clean sweep of New Zealand in the recently concluded series.

“When I've played against him, I could pick his doosra, so I was OK. But if England's batsmen can't pick his doosra, they'll have issues. I was always looking to smash his offspinner,” Pietersen said. England last toured India in 2012 when they defeated the hosts 2-1 but the upcoming series will be an exciting battle as No.1-ranked India have made rapid strides in the longest format, while England have just lost a Test to Bangladesh. 

The first Test will be played at Rajkot from November 9.