England vs India: Kohli is just like Tendulkar when it comes to game preparation – Ravi Shastri

India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that Virat Kohli’s work-ethic and game sense can only be compared with the iconic Sachin Tendulkar.

The Indian skipper who faced a lot of flak after his disastrous campaign in 2014, has turned up in style this series, He has so far scored 440 in three matches that includes two centuries and two half-centuries. It was his 103 at Trent Bridge that alongside quality performances from other players powered India to a 203-run victory and bounce back in the series from being 2-0 down.

“He (Kohli) is very passionate about the game. He loves batting. He loves to do the hard yards. His work ethic is second to none and I have not seen any cricketer. I will put (Sachin) Tendulkar in that bracket when it comes to preparation, visualising situations, how he goes about planning, ability to stay in present — great qualities in any human being,” Shastri told Mike Atherton in an interview for Sky Sports on Wednesday.

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“I promise you that these two innings, he has forgotten. He will take guard as if he has not got runs in this series,” he added, while talking about Kohli’s hunger for more runs.

A 1983 World Cup winner in England, Shastri also showered praise on the current bowling unit, calling it the “best by a mile” pace attack in the history of Indian cricket.

“Oh by a mile!” he said when asked if this was the best crop of fast bowlers. “If you look, the two potently best bowlers for English conditions would have been Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

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“We didn’t have them at all right through the ODI series (Bumrah had a fractured wrist and Bhuvneshwar had back issue) and also not at the start of the Test series. So we couldn’t play as a unit, then we have Ishant, and Shami and we have Umesh in the reserves, who are bowling beautifully. They can come into play anytime,” said the former all-rounder.

The 56-year-old also spoke of his aim to make India the “best travelling side” in the world.

“We know we will thrash teams at home. There’s no chance for opposition if they come to India and if we prepare tracks that suit us. But we want to go outside and win and I think this side can be the best travelling side in the world.”

India, currently is 1-2 behind in the five-match Test series and face England at Southampton for the fourth Test on Thursday.