"If you are playing all over the world, I would pick Virat Kohli" - Yuvraj Singh weighs in on Joe Root vs Virat Kohli debate
Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh weighed in on one of the hottest topics around the cricketing world - who is better between Joe Root and Virat Kohli? Root has been on a record-breaking spree in Test cricket, leapfrogging several all-time greats during the English summer to be sixth on the run-scoring charts with 12,403 runs.
Meanwhile, Kohli has been on a similar run in white-ball cricket, finishing his T20I career as the second-leading run-scorer with 4,188 runs. He is also third all-time in ODIs with 13,906 runs and has the most centuries in the format with 50.
When asked about who he would go for between Root and Kohli in the Club Prairie Fire YouTube podcast, Yuvraj replied [27:33]:
"It's a tough one. Joe Root is obviously breaking records but where you are playing also matters. If you are playing in England, obviously you'll pick Joe Root but if you are playing all over the world, I would pick Virat Kohli because on certain wickets he can do a lot of damage. On form right now, definitely Joe Root but if you look at all formats, definitely Virat Kohli."
Overall, Kohli is on 26,965 international runs at an average of 53.18 with 80 centuries, while Root is on 19,817 runs at an average of 48.69 with 50 centuries.
"I would go for Rohit Sharma to start if it's T20 cricket" - Yuvraj Singh
A couple of days after Michael Vaughan on the same podcast picked between MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli in an IPL game of 'Play, Bench and Sell', Yuvraj Singh was asked the same question.
However, contrary to Vaughan, who picked Dhoni as his first choice to 'Play', Yuvraj went with former Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma.
"I would go for Rohit Sharma to start if it's T20 cricket. As a player, someone who can change the game with his batting and an outstanding captain so Rohit Sharma would be my first choice," said Yuvraj [29:21].
Yuvraj then played it safe when having to pick between Dhoni and Kohli for the player to sell, saying:
"If I take anybody to be on the bench (between Dhoni and Kohli), it's going to be a headline tomorrow."
While Kohli is the all-time leading run-scorer in the tournament with 8,004 runs in 252 games, Rohit is third with 6,628 runs in 257 outings and Dhoni is sixth all-time with 5,243 runs in 264 matches.
However, Rohit has won six IPL titles - five as MI captain and one with the now-defunct Deccan Chargers and Dhoni has also won five IPL titles as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain, while Kohli is yet to win an IPL title.