Warne names his all-time batting XI
What's the story
Shane Warne is, undoubtedly, one of the best bowlers the world has ever produced. In his career, he bowled to some of the best batsmen in the world; his rivalry with Sachin Tendulkar being the most notable one. Warne has now decided to rate the top 11 batsman he has either played with or against or even seen. Here's more!
Smith is supreme
Smith gets the edge over Kohli in Warne's XI
With the constant debate of who is better Steven Smith or Virat Kohli, the spin legend decided to put the argument to rest by rating Virat Kohli as the better batsman across formats. However, Warne gave the current world number 1 Test batsman Smith the edge over Kohli, when it came to the five day format of the sport.
Quote
Kohli better across formats
"To me Steve Smith is the best Test batsman in the world. Virat Kohli is the best across all three formats of the game, but across five days, Steve Smith is the man." the legendary spinner wrote in his News Corp column.
Problems against swing?
England woes cost Kohli
Smith shares the 10th spot on the list along with Indian captain, but Warne argued that Kohli's only blip is the lack of runs in English conditions. Warned assessed Kohli based on his 2014 tour of England, where he played 5 Tests scoring 134 runs at an average of 13.40. On the other hand, Smith boasts 3-away Ashes hundreds and averages 43.31 in England.
2 Indians on list
Warne all-time best batting XI
Viv Richards - West Indies Brian Lara - West Indies Sachin Tendulkar - India Greg Chappell - Australia Ricky Ponting - Australia Allan Border - Australia Jacques Kallis - South Africa Graham Gooch - England AB de Villiers - South Africa Steven Smith - Australia Virat Kohli - India
Quote
Warne's assessment of a great batsman
"I don't assess greatness by stats, but rather by the way someone played the game, influenced results and impact they had on all of us. A great batsman has to have a hundred in three key countries: England, Australia, and in the dust-bowls of India"