The Virat Kohli vs Steve Smith debate is one for the ages and while many have been asked to pick one over another, most have decided to sit on the fence and not give an definitive answer. But not Kevin Pietersen. The former England batsman, in a freewheeling chat with ex-Zimbabwe cricketer and current commentator Pommie Mbangwa, didn’t shy away from making a huge claim. Pietersen, without even batting an eyelid, picked Kohli over Smith, even going on to say that the former Australia captain “doesn’t even come close” to the Indian superstar.
In an Instagram Live chat, Mbangwa asked Pietersen to pick between Kohli and Smith.”Kohli, hands down. Freakshow. His record chasing, winning games for India with the amount of pressure he consistently lives under, Smith doesn’t even come close, said the former England batsman.
Mbangwa took it a step further and prodded the England batting star again by asking him to choose between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, and once again Pietersen didn’t shy away.”Again Virat because of his chasing numbers. His chasing numbers are frightening. He averages 80 in chases, all his one-day hundreds come when chasing. He consistently wins games of cricket for India. He just keeps on turning the numbers, chasing, chasing, chasing.”
“That’s what drives me. My man of the match performances. It was not the way that I played or how I played. How many man of the match performances and how many games that you win for England. And he does that for India. Unreal numbers,” added Pietersen.
While many have admitted that Virat Kohli is head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to the limited-over formats, some are of the belief that Smith is better when it comes to the longest format.
As per the current ICC Rankings, Smith heads the list in Test rankings with Kohli hot on his heels. In the ODI rankings, Virat Kohli sits pretty at the top followed by teammate Rohit Sharma with Smith not featuring even in top 10.
In T20Is, Pakistan batsman Babar Azam is in number one spot followed by India star KL Rahul with Kohli currently in 10th spot. Smith is currently in 52nd spot in the table.
