Smith vs Kohli vs Root vs Williamson !!!

[Sachinism]

11 minutes ago, sourab10forever said:

It's not just about tests.

Combined, Kohli reigns above all. There's no debate there.

[Austin 3:!6]

1 hour ago, Gollum said:

When the main competitor is Steve Smith ofc the bar will be high.

 

His record in England was an anomaly, glad he corrected it. I did say earlier that if his overall average in Eng is low but he has just 1 outstanding series there would be no question marks over him. Now he has made amends and pushed his status much higher.

 

Coming to WC, that is the biggest tournament in shorter formats cricket with a rich history. Lets be honest here, JAMODIs have lost relevance for over a decade now. He was sub par in 2011 and 2015. Smith was outstanding in QF-SF-F of 2015 WC, something unprecedented. Kohli's only rival is Smith and so WC is important for him. I am not saying he has to win the WC, ultimately cricket is a team game and one man can't win it on his own. However if Kohli does what Sachin did in 1996/2003/2011 or if he has some high quality knocks in SF/F, even if we were to lose that would add an extra element to his resume. If he does either of that he will definitely surpass Smith, right now there is a question mark courtesy Kohli's performances in WC KO stage and overall WC record. 

 

I may be a a critic but want Kohli to do well, he is one of my favorite cricketers of all time. I am sure he will have that 1 good WC in either 2019 or 2023. I respect Smith greatly but IMO Kohli has a greater probability of finishing his career as undisputed best of his era. Smith's hand-eye will desert him at some point, moreover this 1 year ban will take a big mental toll on him.

His failure in England was blown out of proportion by his critics as if no other great players had any failures. In reality it was his first Eng tour and was a poor series for him. There is nothing more or less to it. I expect him to score runs every time he travels England from now on like he did in this tour. A class player like him can have a poor tournament but cant fail every time. Its a different story likes of Ricky Ponting even after touring India gazillions of time avg 21 or Viv Richards couldn't buy a run in NZ. But of course no one questions them bcoz it don't suit the narrative.

 

As far as ODI cricket is concerned, are you saying only scoring runs in world cup knockouts is the criteria for ODI greatness? With that logic, likes of Ajay Jadeja is a bigger ODI player than Waqar Younis? It don't work that way...lol. Kohli avg almost 58 in ODI cricket with 35 centuries already and the scary part is he is only 29 years old. He is far better and far superior ODI cricketer than Smith could ever dream of.

 

Also, his failures in ICC knockouts are overstated. His partnership with Gambhir in 2011 WC final was very good after we lost 2 quick wickets. He was our best batsman in 2013 CT Final. Even in recently concluded CT, he played some great knocks in knock out games. In virtual quarter finals against SA he scored a match winning 76* while chasing and scored 96* while chasing vs BD in semi finals. His only big failures in ICC events are in 2015 WC semi finals and finals of CT 2017. Every cricketer can have some high and low days. I am sure Virat will fix this as well in next WC and even if he don't he is by far the better batsman than Smith in ODIs.

Edited August 22, 2018 by Austin 3:!6

[randomGuy]

1.kohli

2. Smith

3. Sangakara

4. Kallis

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114. Sachin 

[Ajju]

Bump