The batting maestro has slammed eight half-centuries this season, in which he has made 602 runs at an average of 60.20 and also managed an incredible strike rate of 147.91.

Playing his 18th IPL season, Kohli remains a strong contender in the Orange Cap race, currently holding the fifth spot on the leaderboard.

Karthik praised Kohli for his consistency over the years, which no other batter has managed to maintain in the cash-rich league.

“Genius par excellence, that’s the start, I’ll say for Virat Kohli. Across 18 seasons, he already averages, not averages, he’s got 9000 runs, which is 500 runs a season. People managed to get that 12 seasons. Hayden has got it a few times more, but it is such a hard ask. But for him to come churn out runs every year, have that motivation, even in warmups, the way he feels,” Karthik said.

‘Virat Kohli has so much passion and intensity’

Karthik, who joined the RCB camp as mentor and batting coach this season, further discussed working with Kohli in the nets and said the way he bats in training shows his passion and intensity for the game.

“I was just hitting a few balls to him, the speed at which it comes back in the mid, it tells you the man has got so much passion and intensity with anything he wants to do, and that’s such a brilliant attribute for any young boy and girl wanting to play sport, forget cricket, just the passion, the hard work, the dedication, with every minute you spend towards the sport. He is a walking example of that,” he added.