SK Adda: Who is the best batsman in the world across all three formats?
Sportskeeda Adda is where we ask you – the fan, the critic, the loyalist – for your take on cricket. In yesterday’s poll, we asked you to pick your favourite for the best batsman in the world currently.
And your response has been overwhelming!
With 68% of Sportskeeda Cricket fans picking Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper was a runaway favourite. De Villiers, the South African batting wizard, finished in second place with 14% of the picks in his favour. Joe Root, the double centurion from the recent Old Trafford Test, earned the third spot.
While tons of you wrote in with your thoughts, here are some that we feature:
Virat Kohli
Samarth Goswami: “Virat Kohli. He has been very consistent in all formats. With a double century in Tests, 4 centuries in T20s and some memorable innings in ODIs. He is dominating world cricket with his brilliant batting.”
Imran Haider Rizvi: “Across all formats, yes, Virat Kohli. His ability in all three formats in all conditions makes him a modern great. In limited overs cricket, he has shown that he is one of the greats of all time. In Test cricket, he showed his class in Australia with 4 hundreds. And with a recent double ton in the Caribbean.”
Nirmal Kumar Raut: “Virat Kohli, undoubtedly! Ticks every department of world-class batsmanship – skill, technique, temperament, adaptability and performance, backed by mind-blowing stats. Very few have all of these, but what really sets Virat Kohli apart from others is his ability to handle and perform brilliantly under pressure. Mastering the art of chasing like no other and a willingness to take up any challenge head held high, his insatiable hunger to deliver for his team, and doing all these things consistently ever since his debut makes him the best batsman of this era.”
Navansh Agrawal: “Virat Kohli is the best batsman. He doesn't go for too many sixes as Virat Kohli hits the ball with perfection in the gaps, scores boundaries and gets the same result instead of losing his wicket by trying to hit sixes.”
Abhilash Preethy Venkat: “Virat Kohli. He has time and again proved his mettle. A never-give-up attitude and the mindset of a true winner makes him a class apart. His aggression as a captain and his growing fitness levels add to the mix, making him the best cricketer at present in all the formats.”
Saif Saqlain: “Virat Kohli is a complete player. He is the best batsman, he is good fielder, he is aggressive, he trusts his team mates and believes in himself.”
Rakshit Gujarathi: “Virat Kohli is the best batsman in the world. His strokes, captaincy and mainly own performance in all formats of the games, as well as IPL or domestic matches. So that's why Kohli is the best batsman at present as well as in the future.”
Urmila Tater: “Virat Kohli because if you look at the other batsmen like Steve Smith, he is exceptional in Tests but not the same in the other two formats. Amla and ABD are phenomenal in Tests and ODIs, but they are below average in T20s. Joe Root is a great player, but Virat is above him. And Virat is the same in all three formats.”
Neelkamal Kalita: “Virat Kohli is a far better player than Root. The kind of temperament Kohli has and the way he handles pressure makes him unique. I don’t think any other player has scored so consistently in the last couple of months – be it T20s or ODIs. In Tests also, he's been very consistent.”
Dev Maan: “Virat Kohli is the best right now. The way he adapts to conditions and takes control of the game is incredible. He is living in his own zone at the moment. No matter which format he plays, he is such a pleasure to watch.”
Also read: ICC Test Batsmen Rankings: Virat Kohli becomes highest-ranked Indian batsman
AB de Villiers
Mohammad Bhojani: “AB de Villiers is the top batsman in the world because of his nice shots which entertain us unlike Virat Kohli who make lot of runs but fails to entertain. In the end, de Villiers plays a match wining knock.”
Rajesh Dehury: “ABD is the best batsman in the world. He can score a hundred in 30 balls and can stay at the crease while scoring 30 in 350 balls. ABD is an one-man army, he showed that against India by scoring three hundreds. Aggressive, challenging, destructive and creative.”
Joe Root
Aman Mahal: “I think Joe Root is doing pretty well. I mean he's at the 2nd position in Tests and also the fact that he is in top 10 rankings in all formats. He also made a double century recently which is also his highest score in Tests. And he's 25, not 27!”
Prince Sharma: “Joe Root is just only 25 years. So he is younger than all of them. And how he handles Test (cricket) is a big achievement. So Joe Root is the best in all the formats.”
Hashim Amla
Rakshith B J Raksh: “Across all formats, Hashim Amla. Because he is the most consistent batsman in the 3 formats. First, he (was) called as Test player, then he proved everyone wrong by playing sensational knocks in ODIs and T20Is.”