Joe Root one of my favourite batsmen in world cricket, says Virat Kohli
The cricketing world is currently witnessing an intense tussle between four players to claim the tag of the best batsman of this generation. Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Steven Smith have certainly taken the cricketing world by storm, and if there pedigree and promise is anything to go by, we are set to witness an engaging battle for many years to come.
Indian Test captain, Virat Kohli is in the form of his life and after a stellar 2016, he has now forced cricketing pundits and fans to acknowledge the fact that he is certainly one of the best across formats. Being the mainstay of Indian batting, it is but natural for cricket fans to pit all his achievements against the other 3. However, away frmy all the euphoria and frenzy of the fans, these players wish to be endorsed by their rivals, for they know that praise coming from a contemporary is much higher than all the accolades showered by the general public.
Also read: Test batsman of the year
Hence, when Virat Kohli was speaking to an ECB spokesperson, the question about Joe Root was bound to be raised. Kohli, who never minces his words and always speaks his mind was direct with this answer too.
“Joe is one of my favourite batsmen in world cricket along with David Warner and Kane Williamson. I haven’t spoken with him a lot but I admire the way he plays. He is an all format batsman and that’s something I really appreciate. He has always been a strong Test player,” Kohli said.
He also hailed Root’s ability to adjust and tweak his game according to different formats and believed that his Test game was one of the best.
“The way he played in the T20 World Cup that was a revelation for me and I thought and I was like wow. He is very smart and he knows his game inside out. It’s very evident. He is a very competent guy and you love to play against such guys on the field. I love watching him bat as well. So, I wish him all the luck and hopefully we can play a lot more against each other peak about the game as well,” Kohli further added.
This tussle is proving to an intriguing one for cricket fans, and both these players are churning out runs with ridiculous ease. While Joe Root finished the year as the top run-getter in Test cricket, Virat Kohli was at number 4.
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Highest Score | 50s | 100s |
| 17 | 32` | 1477 | 49.23 | 254 | 10 | 3 |
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Highest Score | 50s | 100s |
| 12 | 18 | 1215 | 75.93 | 235 | 2 | 4 |