Virat Kohli: Lionel Messi is a freak, but Cristiano Ronaldo is the one I admire

The argument over who is better – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – might go on for ages, but what is widely agreed upon is that while the Barcelona wonder is someone who has natural talent to burn, Ronaldo's greatness stems from practice, practice and more practice.

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That is not to say Messi doesn't work hard – no doubt, he works just as hard as anyone out there – but it is that desire to be the best that has seen Ronaldo even stay at the level of the sheer genius of Messi. That is a great testament to the Real Madrid superstar's staying power and hard work and it is something that the superstar of cricket – Virat Kohli – admires.

"I take a lot of inspiration from Cristiano Ronaldo," Kohli told ECB's official website. "The way he has stayed on top for so many years, it's nothing but down to hard work. I have heard he is the most hardworking footballer in the world. That's why he is where he is.

"Messi is a freak, but this guy is giving him a run for his money all because of his hard work."

Kohli is a combination of the two in cricket – he has ridiculous natural talent, but the fact that he is probably the hardest working cricketer out there has turned him into the batting beast that he is now.

While there is no argument over the fact that Kohli is the best limited-overs batsman in the world – irrespective of the rankings – the India captain is slowly but surely turning into the best in the business in Test match cricket as well. The 28-year-old, not the brash young thing anymore, is coming off a stunning year in the Test format, both individually and collectively, and if he keeps his scoring rate and India's winning rate up, there will be no arguments anymore over who the best is, in any format.

Kohli elaborated on what has turned him into such a consistent batsman, even in Test cricket, a format he had previously struggled to stamp his authority on.

"It can be put down to understanding my game a lot better than I used to," Kohli added. "Being happy with the ability I have, the sort of drawbacks that I have. I understand my flaws and strengths nicely.

"It's also about finding the right balance. People talk about not having flaws and it's wrong. Everyone has flaws and consistency is nothing but overcoming those flaws and finding the ability to score runs in Test format, especially which I wanted to find within my game.

"I feel I'm in in a happy space knowing exactly where my game is going."