Not Virat Kohli, Ricky Ponting rates Steve Smith ‘best player of his generation’

Steve Smith and Virat Kohli, members of the modern cricketing generation’s ‘Fab Four’, have experienced contrasting fortunes in recent months. While one has had to return to domestic cricket after more than a year following an alarming drop in his form, the other is shining brighter than ever, bringing up a major career milestone in the process.

On Day 1 of the first Test against Australia in Galle, Smith – filling in as captain for Pat Cummins – continued his fine form with the bat as he brought up his third century in four Tests as well as his 35th overall in the format. And in the process, he brought up the much-awaited 10,000th Test run that had narrowly eluded him in the fifth and final Test against India in Sydney.

With Smith becoming the 15th batter overall to join the 10,000-run club in Test cricket as well as the fourth Australian, his former captain Ricky Ponting rated him as the “best player of his generation”, ahead of Kohli as well as England’s Joe Root and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, the other members of the ‘Fab Four’.

“Is he the best player of his generation? It’s hard to argue against it. Joe Root is the other one now, and (Kane) Williamson’s record is outstanding as well. Joe’s last couple of years have elevated him right back up there, I think,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Ponting as saying.

“Five or six years ago, when this big four emerged, with (Virat) Kohli being one of those as well, Joe was probably down near the bottom part of that because he hadn’t made the hundreds the other guys had made, but he’s made 19 hundreds in the past four years.

“If you asked an Englishman they’d say Joe Root, if you asked an Aussie they’d say Steve Smith, and if you asked a Kiwi they’d say Kane Williamson. So it’s a tough one, but on the numbers themselves it’s pretty hard to argue against what he’s done,” added Ponting, who had scored 13,000-plus runs in Tests as well as ODIs and is among the greatest captains of all time.

It’s worth noting that Kohli, who is currently representing Delhi in their Ranji Trophy fixture against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, was leading the pack in terms of Test centuries till 2020 with 27 centuries.

Also Read | RCB chants, long queues, packed stands: How Delhi welcomed Kohli on Ranji return

The former India captain, however, has scored just three tons in the format in the last four years, and currently is at the bottom of the ‘Fab Four’ with 30 centuries in the format, with Root currently leading the group with 36 centuries followed by Smith (35) and Williamson (32). The latest of Kohli’s centuries came in the opening match of the five-Test series in Australia, with the batting superstar scoring an unbeaten 100 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.