Former Australia spinner Shane Warne feels that while the current Indian Test batting line-up is impressive, it is nowhere close to the golden era of Indian batting, which featured Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. The five batsmen dominated bowling attacks all around the world, and one that Warne played against a lot.
Impressed by what Virat Kohli has achieved in his career as a batsman, Warne rated the India captain high on his list, but if the overall batting composition of India in Tests is concerned, Warne feels it is no match to the 'Fab Five'.
"Their batting is nowhere near as strong as Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman, Tendulkar, Sehwag. Virat Kohli is one of the best batsmen on the planet, if not the best across all forms, but when you see that top five of Sehwag, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman, Tendulkar, that isn't bad. I don't think you can say that it's the best batting Indian side," Warne said on Sky Sports.
India have performed extraordinarily over the last couple of years – especially in Tests, winning back-to-back Test series in Australia and leading England 2-1 in the five-Test series in the UK before it abruptly came to an end with the decider in Manchester getting cancelled. While Warne feels that the likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant are brilliant, India's rise, the former leg-spinner reckons, is majorly due to the formidable pace attack they have been able to assemble.
{{/usCountry}}India have performed extraordinarily over the last couple of years – especially in Tests, winning back-to-back Test series in Australia and leading England 2-1 in the five-Test series in the UK before it abruptly came to an end with the decider in Manchester getting cancelled. While Warne feels that the likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant are brilliant, India's rise, the former leg-spinner reckons, is majorly due to the formidable pace attack they have been able to assemble.
{{/usCountry}}"Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are two standout players, and I think Rishabh Pant will be a superstar down the track. But I think it is their fast bowlers that have elevated India to be able to win in all conditions and not just in India," Warne added.