Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting picked his all-time list of top 5 Test batters in the world, which includes two Indian greats but excludes the likes of modern-day greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
From a batting point of view, whenever the greats of World cricket are asked to pick their list of promising batters, one name often makes the cut, which is that of veteran Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. Known for his equal dominance across all three formats, he is the most versatile batter among the Fab Four.
While Joe Root and Steve Smith have not had their impact on the T20I format, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson have been sound players in both the longest and the shortest formats of the game. However, the former Australian has thought otherwise while excluding Virat Kohli from his list of the top 5 batters of all time.
World Cup winner rates Top 5 batters of all-time, excludes Virat KohAsked to pick his best 5 Test batters of all time in world cricket, former two-time World Cup-winning captain Ricky Ponting picked the likes of former West Indies legend Brian Lara, two Indian greats, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, and two modern-day greats, Joe Root and Kane Williamson, from the Fab-4.
Whenever it comes to red-ball cricket, Brian Lara and Rahul Dravid are two names that often cross the mind of any skipper who has played against them. However, Ponting surprised all by not including any Englishman or Australian in his list of greats.
Ponting hailed Sachin and Dravid's technique but cited Brian Lara as the most skillful batter who gave him the toughest times during his captaincy days.
"Brian Lara was the most skillful batsman I played against, and when I was captain, he gave me more sleepless nights than anybody. Sachin was technically as good as anyone I've seen, along with Rahul Dravid I'd put Joe in there now as well, and Kane Williamson," said Ponting in an interview with The Times.