Steve Smith turns 31: Ex-leg spinner reveals desire to dismiss batting rival Virat Kohli

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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Steve Smith reveals Virat Kohli is his dream wicket

However, both Virat Kohli and Steve Smith remain unaffected by the comparisons as they both hold each other in high regard. Smith, who turned 31 on Tuesday, opened up on comparisons to Virat Kohli, saying he admires the India captain a lot for what he has done for cricket.

During an interaction on Sony Ten Pit Stop, Steve Smith revealed his dream wicket. Steve Smith, who started his career as a leg-spinner before going on to become the champion batsman that he is, said he doesn't prefer bowling a lot these days in international cricket. However, he revealed the name of the batsman who he would like to dismiss.

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Steve Smith said that he doesn't like bowling that much. However. every now and then, it's fine. He claimed that if he is bowling in a game, that means they are in trouble. So hopefully, it doesn't happen too often. Smith added that a bowler always likes to get the best batsman out so it would be Virat Kohli, who he would want to dismiss as a bowler.

Steve Smith heaps praise galore over counterpart Virat Kohli

Steve Smith said that he admires Virat Kohli a lot and added that he is an amazing player. Smith felt that when you look at his incredible record, you realize that he has done so much for Indian cricket. Steve Smith also pointed out the way the Indian team plays the game now with sheer aggression under Virat Kohli and lauded the passion that the 31-year old has got for Indian cricket.

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Steve Smith also heaped praise on his counterpart's fitness. Smith admires Virat Kohli's willingness to improve and get better. He further said that you can see how Kohli's body has sort of transformed over time and added that he is extremely fit, strong and powerful now. In fact, Steve Smith opines that it is pretty amazing for cricket.

Steve Smith didn't hold back in his praise as he hailed Kohli's ability to chase targets. He added that the one thing he admires the most about Kohli is the way he chases in white-ball cricket. Smith further said that his average in winning chases in ODIs is simply phenomenal. He concluded that Kohli is immensely good under pressure and just gets the job done more often than not.

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IMAGE COURTESY: ICC TWITTER