Published 14:55 IST, May 26th 2020
Brett Lee picks fellow Australian Steve Smith over Virat Kohli for peculiar reason
Brett Lee said that at the moment he would choose Steve Smith over Virat Kohli because of what he has been through and and what he has overcome.
India captain Virat Kohli and former Australia captain Steve Smith are arguably two of the best batsmen in the world at the moment. Over the years, both batsmen have set a plethora of records and have enthralled the cricketing community with their batting. The rivalry of Virat Kohli vs Steve Smith has quickly stood up to the stature of the Sachin Tendulkar vs Brian Lara rivalry of the 90s and 2000s. There's a constant debate which has divided the cricketing community as to who is the better batsman between the two players.
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Brett Lee picks countryman Steve Smith over Virat Kohli
Now, former Australia speedster Brett Lee has had his say on the never-ending debate. Brett Lee picked his Australian compatriot Steve Smith over the Indian skipper because of 'what he has been through in his career'. He also opined that Steve Smith will be nearly as good as the great Don Bradman.
Brett Lee was involved in an Instagram live session with former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa where he was asked to pick between the two. He said that it’s so exhausting to choose as there are a lot of qualities in both that he enjoys. He added that from a bowling point of views, he is trying to look if there are any flaws in each batsman and said that both batsmen are genuine.
Brett Lee further said that Virat Kohli is technically sound, he hits by way of the V. He also said that Virat Kohli used to knick off earlier in his career, however, it’s difficult to try this now as he is a superb chief of his aspect. He also said that he believes Virat Kohli would win the IPL someday.
Speaking on Steve Smith, Brett Lee said that the former Australia captain has been through a lot in the last couple of years. Brett Lee added that his performances have improved drastically in the last 12 months, Brett Lee also said that Steve Smith is so fidgety that sometimes you feel like telling him to relax a bit.
Brett Lee further said that at the moment he would choose Steve Smith over Virat Kohli because of what he has been through and and what he has overcome. While both the players started out in the late 2000s, Smith turned into a proper batsman from a leg-spinner, taking time to establish himself in all three formats of the game. However, Kohli begun by excelling in white-ball cricket until he translated that form in Tests since taking over as India's captain in 2015.
Steve Smith is currently at the pinnacle of ICC rankings for batsmen in Tests followed by Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper is No.1-ranked batsman in ODIs and he finds himself at No.10 in T20Is. Virat Kohli averages over close to 60 in ODIs with 43 hundred and 11,867 runs. In Tests, he has 7,240 runs in 83 matches with 27 hundreds.
IMAGE COURTESY: AP
Updated 14:55 IST, May 26th 2020