One thing I admire about Virat Kohli is the way he chases in white-ball cricket: Steve Smith

Arguably top two batsmen of the fab four batsmen of the current era, Steve Smith and Virat Kohli, respect each other a lot. The way the Indian skipper had urged the crowd to clap for Smith during the India-Australia clash in the World Cup last year was praised by many. The former Australia captain thanked Kohli for the gesture as well and has lavished more praise on him now.

This time around Smith has lauded his counterpart for his fitness and form in international cricket. He also revealed that he admires Kohli more for the way he chases a score in white-ball cricket. The 31-year-old is known as the chase master and averages a stunning 68.33 in 134 innings having scored 7039 and 26 centuries in ODI cricket.

“I admire Virat (Kohli) a lot, he is an amazing player. You look at his record now… simply incredible. He has done so much for India in cricket. You know the way they play the game now and the sheer passion he has got for Indian cricket. His willingness to improve and get better. His body seems to have transformed over time and he looks so fit and powerful.

“The one thing I admire about him is the way he chases in white-ball cricket. You look at his average in winning chases in ODIs and it is simply phenomenal,” Steve Smith said while speaking in Sony Ten Pit Stop.

Steve Smith expecting India to challenge Australia on Test tour

India is scheduled to tour Australia for four Tests later this year. It is the much-awaited contest amid the pandemic and Steve Smith is expecting the Virat Kohli-led side to give them a tough fight. India won the series last time they travelled down under in Smith and David Warner‘s absence.

The former cited how team India is shaped well on the batting and bowling front now and reckons it will be one of the best series. “Plenty of challenges I think because India are an incredible team. Their batting line-up is so strong. Virat… (Cheteshwar) Pujara last time here was immovable… (Ajinkya) Rahane a quality Test player. Then they have got KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. They have got batters everywhere.

“They have got a great batting line-up to go with a strong bowling line-up. They have got (Mohammad) Shami and (Jasprit) Bumrah…Ishant Sharma has been here plenty of times as well. So a well-rounded team and it is going to be a terrific series this summer that’s for sure,” Steve Smith further added.