Indian captain Virat Kohli and former Australian captain Steven Smith are now dominating the cricket world. Former Australian captain Ian Chappell recently revealed his favourite captain and batsman between Kohli and Smith.
Recently, Ian Chappell had a chat with ESPNcricinfo’s Raunak Kapoor on Twitter, where the former Aussie captain shared his thoughts over the game. During that chat, Chappell was asked about his favourite choice as captain and batsman between Virat Kohli and Steven Smith. In reply, Chappell chose the Indian cricketer in both positions, as captain and batsman.
Chappell said, “I’d take Kohli both ways, as captain and batsman.”
Virat Kohli and Steven Smith both have impressive track records
Steven Smith is currently the No.1-ranked Test batsman while Virat Kohli is the No.1-ranked ODI batsman, no.2-ranked Test batsman and no.10-ranked T20I batsman. While the right-handed batsman Smith has an outstanding Test batting average of 62.84, his ODI batting average is 42.46, and T20I batting average is 29.60.
Meanwhile, the right-handed batsman Kohli has maintained his consistency in batting for a long time, and his present batting average in every format is over 50 (Test average – 53.62; ODI average – 59.33 and T20I average 50.80).
Smith was leading the Australian team positively in almost every format before he was suspended due to his involvement in the ball-tampering incident during the 2018 Cape Town Test. While the Australian team had limited resources in that period, Smith was guiding the team to the successful path.
On the other hand, after MS Dhoni has stepped down from the captaincy roles, Kohli has handled these positions incredibly. Kohli-led India had not only shown their positive cricket in India or Asia but also outside the Asian soil. Though his team hasn’t won any tournaments yet, Indian players have continuously impressed with their consistent performances in the major tournaments as they have always finished in the top four positions.