Kohli among India’s all-time top-5 batters but not among world’s best: Mushtaq Mohammed

Mushtaq Mohammad. Source: Getty Images

There’s no family in cricket like Pakistan’s Mohammad brothers. The eldest among five, Hanif was among the greatest of all time for Pakistan. His younger brother Mushtaq, too, was one of the greats of the game. Based in Birmingham, Mushtaq, 78, is known for his First-Class debut at the age of 13 and his Test debut at 15! For many decades, he held the record of being the youngest player to get the maiden cap.

Many considered Mushtaq ahead of his time and he is widely regarded as the originator of the reverse sweep, which was unheard of in the 1970s. Besides playing 57 Test matches with 10 hundreds, Mushtaq scored 72 centuries over 31,000 runs and took over 900 wickets in First-Class cricket.

Moneycontrol spoke to the Pakistani legend on the side-lines of the Edgbaston Test between India and England. Edited excerpts:

Did you especially come to watch India play England at Edgbaston?

I’m a local here in Edgbaston as I live not very far from the stadium. I often come here during Test matches. Two of the top teams competing for the final battle in a very competitive series – who would like to miss the game?

How do you look at the contest between England and India so far?

Don’t take the host lightly because they were outstanding against the Kiwis just before this series. The England team simply looked like a rejuvenated team under the new leadership group of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes. The consistency of Jonny Bairstow has been remarkable and the entire bowling group has been terrific.

Of course, India is one of the finest teams in contemporary cricket and it was never going to be easy in this Test. So far, England has done well but it will be a fitting finale.

Although Rohit Sharma didn’t play in this game because of fitness issues and Virat Kohli didn’t have a great time either in the middle, how do you see these two batsmen?

Doubtless, both are world-class batters and the whole world talks about their abilities and the crowd comes to watch them bat in international matches. Time and again, they have proved their pedigree by scoring everywhere. Both of them are huge assets for India and their team gets a lot of respect because of their presence.

Kohli has not been at his best. Where would you place Kohli in comparison with Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar?

I have played with Sunil (Gavaskar), who was India’s pride like Tendulkar and Kohli are. He was an outstanding player of his generation. To be frank, you just simply can’t compare the three as all of them played in different eras. You are talking about players who played the game almost 50 years ago (Gavaskar made his debut in 1971) and it is unfair to make the comparisons as the game has changed completely and is evolving every day.

Even Tendulkar who played in the 1990s and 2000s and dominated that era can’t be compared with the present era. Instead of comparing the likes of Gavaskar-Tendulkar-Kohli or Rohit Sharma, we should rather celebrate all of them as they have brought joy to Indians and fans all over the world with their mastery. The game has become better.

Will Kohli be among your all-time top 5 batters?

He may be among India’s all-time top-5, but not among the world’s best all-time. There have been legends like Viv Richards and Gary Sobers in the game and, in fact, from every era, there is always one legend at least. Right now, Kohli is not there as yet.

So, according to you, Kohli still has a lot to achieve in batting to be counted among the Richards and the Tendulkars?

Yes, you can say that. Every cricketer wants to improve each day as long as he is playing. Virat is still playing and must be trying to improve himself every time he goes out to bat. Once he finishes his career, a final assessment can be made.

Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, was in terrific form last time around in England but this time he couldn’t play the only Test of the tour. What do you make of that?

Not only the last Test series, Rohit had a great outing in the white ball game during the 2019 ODI World Cup in England. He got four hundreds then. He is a pure joy to watch.