Unfair to compare Root with 'phenomenal' Kohli: Pietersen

'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 just phenomenal'

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen feels that it's an unfair comparison between Joe Root and Virat Kohli since the statistically the Indian Test captain is way ahead of the Yorkshire lad.

Going through a purple patch, Kohli has often being compared with England batsman Joe Root, which Pietersen feels isn't a fair comparison.

"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 just phenomenal," Pietersen was quoted as saying by 'The Cricketer' magazine.

"He plays so aggressively - sometimes it's like - are you serious? The way he makes big runs for his team so often is just remarkable," he added.

Pointing out Kohli's record average of 60 in the second innings during ODI runchases, Pietersen said: "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."

England will be up against a formidable spin trioka of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, left-armer Ravindra Jadeja and leg-spinner Amit Mishra during their bilateral series against India.

IMAGE: England's Joe Root plays the cut shot. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images.

KP said England need to watch out for the doosra from Ashwin, who has been in red-hot form, picking up 153 wickets in 22 Tests at home.

The Chennai offie scalped 27 wickets to help India blank New Zealand 3-0 in the recently concluded series and Pietersen said: "Ashwin is a good bowler. He uses his variations very well, especially the way he approaches the crease. He's always looking to attack and outfox a batsman.

"When I've played against him, I could pick his doosra, so I was OK. But if England's batsmen can't pick his doosra they'll have issues. The low bounce might make it harder, but that's part of the challenge of playing in India.

"Batsmen have got to find themselves a boundary option in India. It's all about rotating the strike and maneuvering the field. I was OK in India. I enjoyed it there. I made plenty of hundreds there," he added.

The last time England toured India in 2012, they had beaten the hosts 2-1. However, this time England is coming into the Test series after a shocking defeat to Bangladesh in the second Test at Dhaka.

The first match of the series will be played at Rajkot from November 9.