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Ex-Pakistani pacer ranked Virat Kohli above Babar Azam, Steve Smith and Joe Root due to his match-winning abilities.
IND vs AUS: Virat Kohli scored his 30th Test hundred (AP) in Perth.
Former Pakistani pacer Mohammad Amir believes Virat Kohli is head and shoulders above the other batters of his generation, including Babar Azam, Steve Smith and Joe Root. Amir said the comparisons make him ‘laugh’ because Kohli’s match-winning history for India makes him the ‘greatest batter of this generation’.
Kohli, Smith, Root and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson are fondly called the ‘fab-four’ of men’s cricket. The Indian has the best record among them in ODIs and is the only one to win with a Player of the Match performance in a T20 World Cup final. However, in Tests, he has fallen short in recent years due to a lean run of big-scoring form which began in late 2019.
“Virat Kohli is the greatest player of this generation. I laugh when comparisons are made between him and Babar Azam, Steve Smith, or Joe Root. We cannot compare Virat Kohli to anyone because he has won so many matches for India, which seems impossible for any one player. Not just in one format, but in all three formats, Virat is the greatest batsman of this generation,” Amir said on the Cricket Predicta Show.
Amir lauded Kohli’s dedication to roar back into form after the horrific tour of England in 2014 The left-arm seamer added that had he not dismissed Kohli in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, India would have beaten Pakistan.
“Virat Kohli’s work ethic sets him apart from all players,” Amir said. “After his bad phase in England in 2014, the way he made a comeback and then consistently performed brilliantly for the next 10 years was no ordinary feat. His wicket in the 2017 Champions Trophy final was very important for us, which helped us win the final. If Virat had not been dismissed, we would have lost the final because we all know how exceptional Virat’s record is while chasing runs,” he added.
Kohli scored an unbeaten century in the first Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy but has since not been able to cross 11 runs. With the series tied at 1-1, India will now play Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the Boxing Day Test starting on December 26.
