Kevin Pietersen hails Virat Kohli, says it is unfair to compare India's Test skipper with Joe Root

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has hailed India Test captain Virat Kohli ahead of England's tour of the subcontinent nation while also claiming that it is unfair to compare him with Joe Root because Kohli is statistically way ahead of the Yorkshire batsman.

Kohli, along with Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith are considered to be among the top four batsmen in the world at present.

"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 so phenomenal. He plays so aggressively, sometimes it's like are you serious? The way he makes big runs for his team so often is remarkable," Pietersen said, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Pietersen, who played 104 Test matches and 136 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for England scoring 8,181 and 4,440 runs respectively, was impressed by the way Kohli plays his game, especially his record while chasing claiming that his ability to score big for the team in any situation is what makes him a great player.

"I switched on the TV and saw him play that 85 not out at Dharamsala (against New Zealand), goodness, that was amazing. He just has that ability to rotate the strike and find boundaries. His ODI record is a joke. Such an old head on young-ish shoulders."

Pietersen also wanted the Three Lions to watch out for off-spinner R Ashwin and in particular his 'doosra' as it could cause a number of problems for the visitors. The lad from Chennai has been in sizzling form of late, taking 27 wickets in the recently concluded series against New Zealand which helped India complete a 3-0 series whitewash.

The last time England toured India they won the three-match Test series 2-1. The first Test of the upcoming India vs England series starts on 9 November at Rajkot, Gujarat.