Chris Waters: How do you stop Virat Kohli? Er, well you can't ...

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: India's Virat Kohli is the best batsman in the world, with his chief rivals - Kane Williamson, Steve Smith and Joe Root - having lotsof ground to make up.

THE ARGUMENTS can now be put to bed.

Virat Kohli is the world’s best batsman.

The Indian master has leapfrogged the likes of Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith, who have some catching up to do.

No other conclusion is possible based on Kohli’s recent form.

India captain Virat Kohli celebrates wreaching a century against England in Pune on Sunday. Picture: AP/Rajanish Kakade

In the last six months, he has scored 1,215 Test runs at an average of 75.93, with three double hundreds.

Since the start of last year, he has made 861 one-day international runs at an average of 95.66, with four hundreds and four fifties in 11 innings.

Also since the start of last year, he has amassed 641 T20 international runs at an average of 106.83, with seven half-centuries in 13 innings.

As former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted: “Best Test player … KOHLI. Best ODI player … KOHLI. Best T20 player … KOHLI”

Enough said.

One can certainly ignore the official International Cricket Council player rankings, which put Smith as the No.1 Test batsman with Kohli second, and AB de Villiers as the No.1 one-day batsman with Kohli second also.

The ICC rank Kohli as the No.1 T20 batsman, and no other player is as prominent as him across the three formats, but the rankings are a gimmick and a general guide only as opposed to a definitive barometer of quality.

As Vaughan also tweeted after Kohli’s match-winning hundred in the first one-day international against England in Pune: “VIRAT KOHLI IS FROM ANOTHER PLANET.”

It is possible that the former Yorkshire batsman had inadvertently flicked on his “Caps Lock”.

More likely, however, was that he was merely emphasising his great admiration.

Among the many adulatory comments on social media, one fan wondered: “Why don’t you just admit you are an alien, Kohli? Why don’t you? Why?”