When you look at Virat, you’re thinking pin-up boy: Former ICC elite panel umpire Ian Gould

New Delhi

“Jacques Kallis. I loved watching Jacques. He was a very, very fine player. Sachin. And probably Virat. I was unlucky in some respects. I didn’t see the best of Ricky Ponting. He was an outstanding character, outstanding captain, such a proud Australian,” he told ESPNCricinfo.

Talking about Kohli, he further said: “He’s one of those guys who’s got, a bit like Sachin Tendulkar, the whole of India on his back, but you wouldn’t know. You could walk into a restaurant and sit and chat with him for hours. He’s a very worldly boy. When you look at Virat, you’re thinking male model, pin-up boy, but he knows about the game inside out, the past, history. Lovely guy.”

Gould was recently in the news when South Africa pacer Dale Steyn revealed that he had Tendulkar plumb in front during his historic maiden double hundred in ODIs in Gwalior in 2010, but Gould didn’t give the legend out citing crowd pressure.

Gould had another interesting incident involving Tendulkar and that was during the 2011 World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan in Mohali. While he gave Tendulkar LBW, the batsman took the DRS and the decision was overturned.

“Don’t go down that road. I get teased about that. People send me pictures of my reaction after I was told in my ear by Billy Bowden that it was missing leg stump. It makes me laugh. It didn’t make me laugh at the time, I can assure you. But I’d give it out again with my back to the wall. It was dead. I don’t know what happened,” he said.