De Villiers says Kohli among best bats in world, wants one drop Proteas spot

South African batsman AB de Villiers has described India's Virat Kohli as among the top three batsmen in international cricket, and expressed a desire to bat at No 3 in all formats for the Proteas.

Currently the world's No 1-ranked batsman in Test and One-Day International cricket, De Villiers was quoted by Sport 24, as telling the Beeld website that while he was not sure about being the world's best batsman, he would like to test himself batting at No. 3 in all three formats of the game.

He, however, added that Coach Russell Domingo was of the view that he needed to be protected a bit at No 5 in Test cricket because he was also the team's wicketkeeper.

When asked who he thought was the world's best, De Villiers singled out India's Virat Kohli, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul as three players who stand out.

De Villiers and his Proteas team-mates are currently in Sri Lanka where they are preparing for three ODIs and two Tests. The first ODI starts in Colombo on Sunday.