Virat Kohli or Steve Smith? Ricky Ponting picks the most complete batsman of the present era

Virat Kohli. Steven Smith. Who is the best among the equals? Who is the best across all the three formats of the game? Who is the most accomplished batsman of the current era? Is it Virat- the ever-hungry mean-run scoring juggernaut or is it Steve Smith- the silent assassin, the man who literally rose from the Ashes to hand Australia the ‘Ashes’ after his comeback from the ball-tampering scandal? Who is it?

This is the question that has engulfed the folklore and pundits in contemporary cricket. And, to be fair it is the story of every era, and not just in cricket but in every other sport. Take Soccer for example. In every post related to the game on social media, you’ll find fans arguing as to who is the ‘Greatest of all-time- Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?” You’ll see them dishing out the most obscure of statistics in order to prove that their hero is indeed the greatest player of all time.

The same is the case with cricket. Every era has its own set of superstars who are equally revered by the fans; who draw battle lines among the folklore as to who is the greatest of all time? The previous era saw fans argue, ponder as well as declare the best among India’s Sachin Tendulkar and the Prince of Trinidad- Brian Charles Lara. The same can be said about the current era with the Fab-4 in  Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root ruling the roost as far as modern-day batsmanship is concerned. 

Ricky Ponting on who is the most complete batsman today- Virat Kohli or Steven Smith

But, in the past two years or so, Virat Kohli and Steven Smith have pushed the bar so high that every time we talk about the best batsmen in the world, invariably these two names come up. While there is no doubt that Virat Kohli is daylights ahead of the next best limited-overs batsman, Steve Smith’s Brobdingnagian average and unrelenting consistency in Test cricket make him an irresistible force in the purest format of the game.

So, who is the most complete batsman today? According to former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, it is pretty hard to choose between Virat Kohli and Steve Smith. Ponting was asked by one of the fans the same question. The veteran had a tough time picking one and he said: “Hard to separate Virat Kohli and Steve Smith’

Here is Ricky Ponting’s tweet

Hard to separate Virat Kohli and Steve Smith https://t.co/JrXLBdTkhc

— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) January 27, 2020