Not bothered by Kohli's recent high, says Steve Smith

Virat Kohli and Steven Smith are arguably the two greatest batsmen of the generation. While Kohli tops the charts in the ICC ODI and T20 rankings, it his Steven Smith who is the numero uno in Tests. The rivalry between the two has always grabbed the limelight either because of their on-field banters or their subtle digs at each other at the press conferences.

While both wear a friendly mask in their face to face meetings, they also like to pile pressure on each other with their words. on Saturday morning, when Smith took the seat at the press conference, we got another example of the same. The Aussie skipper was tricked with the question of whether Virat is widening the gap between them by scoring frequent centuries. Smith chose to be diplomatic in his answer but mentioned that India plays a lot more limited overs games than Australia. The fidgety batsman also mentioned that he is not bothered by personal achievements and comparisons.

What Smith said:

“I am not sure,” he said. Explaining further, Smith added “I think India play a lot more ODI cricket than we have. I don’t know how many matches they have played, but (trust me) I am not worried about personal accolades or anything like that. The Indian team has very good batsmen,” the Aussie skipper stated.

The last time the Aussies made their way to India was earlier this year when the two behemoths clashed in the longest version of the game. Smith was in terrific form that time while Kohli was going through a significant low in the Test format. However, India reigned supreme in the series which was marked by a lot of tension and unfriendly banters.

Steve Smith pointed out that it is very important for Australia to keep Kohli silent to beat India in the series. “I’m not too concerned about my differences with Virat (both personal records and batting styles in ODIs). He is obviously going to be dangerous. Hopefully we can keep him quiet as much as possible. If we do that, then hopefully that can help us go a long way in having some success on this tour” Smith said.