Marnus Labuschagne aspires to be a player like Virat Kohli and Steve Smith

Marnus Labuschagne- the right-handed batsman from Australia has certainly emerged as the run-machine for his side in the recent past. The 25-year-old has been playing in his prime since his arrival and he is looked down as another gem player to be in the making that Australia has given to cricket. In a short career, Labuschagne has hogged the spotlight with his impressive batting irrespective of the conditions. Now, Labuschagne has opened up saying that he wants to be a player like Steve Smith and Virat Kohli.

The 25-year-old made his debut back in 2018 against Pakistan in Tests and since then he has been one of the mainstays of Australia in the longer format. So far, he has donned national jersey in 14 Tests in which he has managed to score 1459 runs on an average of 63.4. Moreover, he is currently ranked number three Test batsmen in the latest ICC rankings.

Labuschagne was also awarded as Man of the series in the recently concluded two-match series against New Zealand in which he amassed 549 runs in two games with a best of 215 runs. After the series, the right-hander was poured with wishes and the debates started taking rounds over his comparison with some of the current greats in cricket.

Marnus Labuschagne focussed on bringing consistency in his game

Marnus Labuschagne opened up saying that he looks up to players like Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, who are best in the business, and he aspires to be a player like them in future. Smith and Kohli have been performing consistently well across all the formats. Labuschagne personally feels that there is still a lot left for him to learn and these players motivate him to come up with brilliant performances. Currently, he just focused to bring consistency in his game that will help his team to outclass the opponents.

“You look at the guys I look up to and aspire to — Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Joe Root. They’ve been doing it for a very long time, five, six years they’ve been consistent, not just in one format, but two or more formats. So for me personally there’s a lot to learn and a lot to grow because I’ve had some success this summer but the real challenge for me is to be more consistent going on and being able to keep putting continued performances on the board,” Marnus Labuschagne was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Labuschagne is scheduled to make his debut for Australia in the limited over format. And the chances are quite high that he might make his debut against India in the upcoming three-match ODI series starting on 14th of January as he has been picked by the selectors in the squad.

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