Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has discarded Virat Kohli in the best player of this generation discussion and gave his vote to Steve Smith who has completed 10000 test runs and hit his 35th test century of day 01 of the first test of Australia tour of Sri Lanka 2025.
He is the 15th player to reach the landmark in test cricket and the fourth from Australia, joining the likes of Ponting.
Smith’s 35 test century took him past Sunil Gavaskar in terms of three-digit mark in red-ball cricket. He shared 195-run stand with Usman Khawaja, with Australia posting 330/2.
Ponting mentioned that it was tough to look beyond Steve Smith who is the best batter in the current generation.
“Steve Smith is the best player of this generation. Joe Root is also performing well and Kane Williamson’s record is magnificent. Root’s performance in the last couple of years has put him right back up there,” said Ponting.
Virat Kohli was the leading the race with Fab Four till 202, but he has lost his Midas touch in the last four years. He had scored 27 test tons, ten more than Joe Root, six more than Kane Williamson, one more than Steve Smith.
In the next four years, Root accumulated 19 tons and his current tall of 36 tons has made him a leader among the Fab Four.
“When these four emerged, Virat Kohli was leading the race, with Joe Root near the bottom part but he has made 19 hundreds in the past four years,” he added.
“England fans would side with Joe Root while the Aussies feels Steve Smith is the best. A Kiwi would give his vote to Kane Williamson. It is not easy to pick but what Steve Smith has done over the years can’t be ignored,” he concluded.
Virat Kohli is currently involved in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 game where Delhi is set to play against Railways beginning on January 30 at Arun Jaitley.
