For me, Virat Kohli overtakes Viv Richards in ODI cricket, says Shane Warne
Shane Warne has stated that Virat Kohli is the best batsman across formats and has put the Indian skipper above legendary Sir Viv Richards as far as ODI batsmanship goes. While admitting that picking one in Tests is a tough choice to make, he would go with Steve Smith as the best batsman in Tests.
Although Virat Kohli failed to convert any of his five half-centuries to triple-digit scores in the World Cup, he made a fitting comeback in the Windies ODI series, scoring two centuries from three games. However, he failed to replicate the same performance in the Test series, where apart from a couple of half-centuries, his contribution remained largely hidden.
On the other hand, Steve Smith has made the world sit up and take notice of him with two centuries, one double century and one half century, which combined for a total of 589 runs from four innings. This was ridiculous batting and Shane Warne was clearly impressed by it. However, when he was asked to pick one between Kohli and Smith as the best batsman in world cricket, Warne said if he had to pick one for Tests, Smith would have a slight advantage over his otherwise favourite Kohli.
"As far as Test cricket goes, I would probably say it is a really tough one between Virat and Smith. But I think if I had to pick one batsman in Test cricket, it would be Smith; but if I lost that and had Virat, I would still be happy because he is a legend," Warne was quoted as saying by AFP.
"I think Virat is the best batsman in the world. If I had to pick one batsman across all formats, it would have to be Virat. Viv Richards was the greatest batsman I saw in ODI cricket and in all cricket probably. But Virat is now the greatest ODI player that we have seen. He overtakes Viv for me."
With 68 centuries in international cricket and age on his side, Kohli might break Sachin Tendulkar's record of 100 international hundreds and Warne believes that Kohli could well finish with the maximum number of centuries when he retires from the game.
"Yes, I think Sachin's records are in danger and it is like anyone else who has a record. With me having 708 Test wickets, I was asked the question if I think Nathan Lyon can get me. I hope he does because that will mean that he has played well for a long period of time. It is the same with Sachin. I believe if you ask him if he wants Virat to break his records, he would say absolutely. It will be great fun to watch. Look out Sachin, Virat is coming for you," he said.
"I think he will break all records and I am a big fan of how he goes about his job and I have said that publicly as well. I think Virat in all forms of the game is the best batsman in the world," he said.
