Virat Kohli Or Joe Root – Who Is The 'Best Test Batter'? Here's What Adam Gilchrist Thinks
n a recent discussion, former England captain Michael Vaughan selected Joe Root as the top Test batter, while former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist named Virat Kohli as the best.
Adam Glichrist Picks Virat Kohli As 'The Best Test Batter'
Both Vaughan and Glichrist agreed that Kohli excels in limited-overs cricket, but Vaughan supported Root due to his strong recent performances in Test cricket. Conversely, Gilchrist countered by noting that Root has yet to score a Test century in Australia.
Adam also mentioned about Kohli's 123 against Australia in Perth in 2018 as one of the finest innings he has ever witnessed.
"In the last short while. Over a long period, Joe Root's stats are..well he is the best England ever had," Gichrist said on Club Prairie Fire podcast.
"Virat scored one of the best tons I've seen at the Perth stadium in the first Test match ever played there, that was probably different gravy. I'd probably say Virat," he added.
"I wouldn't argue with that in Australia. I would say Virat in Australia against the Aussies, anywhere else I'm going Joe Root," Vaughan responded.
Who would you rather, Joe Root 🏴 or Virat Kohli 🇮🇳?
The guys debate who they would pick in every format 🏏 in different countries 🇦🇺 and you might be surprised 😮
Link 🔗 to watch the full episode 📺 now - https://t.co/wAgUAj0XsT#ClubPrairieFire pic.twitter.com/MH5aMD0dVJ
— Club Prairie Fire (@clubprairiefire) September 4, 2024
Also Read: Rishabh Pant On ‘Change’ In Indian Cricket: What Gautam Gambhir’s Coaching Brings To The Table ?
Virat Kohli Vs Joe Root
Root is currently in arguably the most prolific phase of his career. Last month, he achieved the rare feat of scoring a century in each innings of the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's. His 33rd and 34th century took him past Alastair Cook who was above him in the chart as England's most Test centuries scorer.
By contrast, Kohli's last century was against the West Indies back in July 2023 and he has really had just one score of more than 50 in his last four innings. Overall, he has scored 8,848 runs from 113 Tests, with 29 centuries. Root has amassed 12,377 runs from 145 Tests, with a fine average of 50.93.
Dinesh Karthik Gives His Opinion On Kohli Vs Root Debate
On Thursday, former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik weighed in on the Root versus Kohli debate on Cricbuzz's YouTube show 'HeyCB with DK.' At first, Karthik's preference for Root, purely as a statistical performer, was able to almost convince RCB star Vaughan. However, Karthik flipped around an important twist in his reply.
“Numbers will tell you it's Joe Root, but my heart, the fact that he is someone I've seen playing in close quarters for the longest time now, over a decade...I know how he loves playing those big moments and big series. And if somebody asks him questions, he will come to you so strongly that you will be thinking, 'Wow, why did I even ask that question.' If I were given a question of who would bat for my life, it would be Kohli. No doubt,” he said.
While answering a question on Root and Kohli by a fan, Karthik said though the statistics were in favour of the former England captain, his close observation of Kohli throughout his career drove him to a different conclusion. According to him the statistics may say so, but if he was supposed to choose a cricketer to bat for his life, he'd go with the ex-Indian captain.
