The comparisons between players in cricket is not an odd thing. Fans and experts often give their verdicts by putting up the statistics of cricketers. In the past, a comparison which drew everyone’s attention was between Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. Both were legends and geniuses in their era’s; still, they had to go through the various assessments and evaluations.
The similar pattern continues in modern-day cricket as well, and just like Sachin and Lara, two currently active players who are always on the radar of fans and pundits are Virat Kohli and Steve Smith. The duo has been compared with each other several times. Some believe that Kohli is the virtuoso, while some rate Smith as the top-class batsman.
Despite being the competitors, both Kohli and Smith hold each other in utmost respect. Evidence of which was noticed when India faced Australia at the World Cup last year at The Oval. There was a moment in the game when Aussies were fielding, and few Indian cricket team fans started heckling the former Australian captain. But then Kohli, who was batting at one end, stood up for Smith and signaled towards the crowd to stop their actions and asked the supporters to appreciate Smith by clapping for him.
In a recent interaction on Star Sports’ show ‘Cricket Connected’, Smith termed Kohli as a ‘terrific guy’ for his gesture in the World Cup encounter. During the conversation, The New South Wales cricketer reminisced about some of his early exchanges with Kohli.
“I have known Virat Kohli for a long time. Since 2007, I reckon, when he went up to the academy in Brisbane. I actually wasn’t a part of in-take then, but I was kind of up there, doing bowling and stuff,” said Smith.
“He was there; we had some nice chats off the field. We had a couple of run-ins in the early days on the field. Those things happen when you are playing for your team, and your emotions sometimes go out of control,” he added.
Smith reckoned that Kohli is an ambassador of the captivating game.
“But he’s a terrific guy; he’s done terrific things with India. As an ambassador of the game. He’s getting better and better with each game, which is the scary thing,” the 31-year-old added further.
For the upcoming Border-Gavaskar trophy, Smith displayed his excitement and termed Indian bowling attack as a quality one. He even predicted that this series would go down as an all-time great.
“I am so excited. It has the potential to be an all-time great series. You see guys like Jasprit Bumrah, who has come on heaps and bounds, he’s an incredible bowler. Mohammed Shami has got better and better. Ishant Sharma has the experience,” articulated the Worcestershire cricketer.
“There are other couple of Indian bowlers who could probably just get over here as well. Both sides have some quality spinners as well. This series has the making of an all-time great series, and I can’t wait for it,” concluded Smith.
