Virat Kohli and Steve Smith are two of the modern-day greats. They have taken the art of batsmanship to a whole new level redefining the term consistency. While the whole world continues to debate over who is better, both Smith and Kohli have always expressed high regards for each other.
The India skipper earned a lot of applauds with his deeds when he urged a section of the crowd not to boo Steve Smith during a World Cup game. The incident garnered a lot of attention and praise from all quarters.
I admire Virat Kohli a lot: Steve Smith
This time around Smith has lauded his counterpart for his fitness and form in international cricket. The No.1 Test batsman revealed that he admires Virat Kohli for the way he chases down targets. Kohli has been phenomenal while chasing averaging a stunning 68.33 in 134 innings with 7039 and 26 centuries in ODI cricket.
“I admire Virat (Kohli) a lot, he is an amazing player. You look at his record now… simply incredible. He has done so much for India in cricket. You know the way they play the game now and the sheer passion he has got for Indian cricket. His willingness to improve and get better. His body seems to have transformed over time and he looks so fit and powerful.
“The one thing I admire about him is the way he chases in white-ball cricket. You look at his average in winning chases in ODIs and it is simply phenomenal,” Steve Smith said while speaking in Sony Ten Pit Stop.
Looking forward to the challenges
Meanwhile, India and Australia are looking forward to their bilateral series later this year. Steve Smith, who missed the last series, due to a ban, is hopeful that Virat Kohli & Co will pose some tough challenges when they tour down under later this year.
“Plenty of challenges I think because India are an incredible team. Their batting line-up is so strong. Virat… (Cheteshwar) Pujara last time here was immovable… (Ajinkya) Rahane a quality Test player. Then they have got KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. They have got batters everywhere.
“They have got a great batting line-up to go with a strong bowling line-up. They have got (Mohammad) Shami and (Jasprit) Bumrah…Ishant Sharma has been here plenty of times as well. So a well-rounded team and it is going to be a terrific series this summer that’s for sure,” Steve Smith concluded.
