Widely regarded as a legendary bowler in world cricket, Australia spinner Shane Warne on Saturday has picked top-5 batters in Test cricket according to him. However, the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli failed to make the cut in Warne’s top-3 batters in the world at the moment. According to the former Australian spinner, Steve Smith is the first pick on most of the lists when it comes to batting in Test cricket.
During a recent chat with Fox Cricket, Shane Warne said, “I’ve got Steve Smith. In all conditions and against all bowling attacking across all times, Smith is outstanding.”
England captain Joe Root, who is well on the course of going past Mohammed Yousuf’s record for most runs in a calendar year, was Warne’s second-best in his list. Root played a dependable knock of 89 in the second innings of the 1st Ashes Test, but the side faced a 9-wicket defeat in Brisbane. New Zealand’s Kane Williamson followed Root at number 3.
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Talking about Joe Root and Williamson, Shane Warne said, “Joe Root is number two. He has made 6 hundred in this calendar year. Kane Williamson is always in thereabouts.”
Warne then named India’s Test captain, Virat Kohli for the fourth spot. The former Australian cricketer said that Virat has ‘dropped’ in his list, seemingly due to him failing to convert his starts into big scores over the past couple of years. Kohli’s last Test century came in 2019 and the batter also failed to put a 50+ score in the recently-concluded series against New Zealand.
Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne completed Warne’s top-5. Shane Warne elaborated, “Virat Kohli has just dropped off a little bit, and then Marnus (Labuschagne) rounds up the top-5 for me.”
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Virat Kohli will be returning to action in Test cricket on December 26 when the team will be locking horns with South Africa in the first of three Tests in Centurion. Earlier this week, the BCCI announced that Kohli would be succeeded by Rohit Sharma as full-time captain in limited-overs cricket. The 33-year-old, however, will retain his leadership role in Tests.
