Only two Indians in Smith, Finch, Maxwell's top 5 current best batters and bowlers of the world, no place for Rohit
Current lot of Australian cricketers - Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Finch, Cameron Green, Nathan Lyon and Glenn Maxwell - revealed their choices.
Who is the best batter in the world right now and who is the best bowler? These two are quite intriguing questions as there are so many good batters and bowlers around in world cricket currently. However, the current lot of Australian stars - Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Finch, Cameron Green, Nathan Lyon and Glenn Maxwell - revealed their choices in an interview to Fox Cricket.
Surprisingly, only two Indians featured among their current top five batters and bowlers. Among the batters, Virat Kohli was picked as the only Indian cricketer in the list also included Babar Azam, Jos Buttler, Steve Smith and Joe Root. While among the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah made the cut amongst the likes of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Kagiso Rabada and Rashid Khan.
Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne and former captain Steve Smith picked Kohli in their list of top five current batters in world cricket.
"I am gonna start with Virat Kohli, a world-class player in all three formats of the game. Scored a truckload of runs and yeah a phenomenal player," said Smith.
"So my all format player is gonna be Virat Kohli, I think Test, ODIs, encapsulates that whole play," explained Labuschagne.
Aaron Finch, who led Australia in this year's T20 World Cup, named Pakistan batter Babar Azam as his top choice. Babar was also picked by Maxwell as one of the top-five current batters.
"White-ball cricket, Babar Azam, he would probably be in my top three in all three formats but you just feel like you can't get him out sometimes no matter what you do and he's got an answer. He is a great player, he's an unbelievable player," said Finch.
"Someone who has been ultra-consistent for a long period of time in all three formats of the game is Babar Azam, classy, elegant, scores runs everywhere," explained Maxwell on picking Babar.
Finch was all praise for England captain Jos Buttler whom he picked in his list of top five batters.
"I would say, Jos Buttler. He is an extremely exciting player to watch in T20 cricket, he opens the batting and can blast everywhere. 50-overs cricket, he tends to bat at number five or six, he is so destructive, he is so hard to bowl to but he's an absolute must-watch," highlighted Finch.
Former England captain Joe Root was also picked in the list by Smith and Lyon.
"I will go with Joe Root, I think the way he is playing at the moment is simply sensational. He looks like every time I see the scorecard, he's getting a hundred. So he's playing phenomenal at the moment," described Smith.
"Joe Root, I think his cricket over the last number of summers has been absolutely exceptional," said Lyon.
Picking their teammate Steve Smith in the list, Labuschagne and Maxwell applauded the right-handed batter.
"Steve Smith, there's probably no argument that he is the best Test batter, of all time but definitely in probably Australia's history, apart from the Don (Bradman)," said Labuschagne.
“ Steve Smith, Just because of what he did in Townsville and Cairns on horrific batting wickets, to have success up there in different conditions and you've got 100 in Sri Lanka in completely different conditions and still just seems to find a way to be successful,” explained Maxwell.
The Australian stars further gave their verdict on the top five current bowlers in world cricket.
"I would have to go with Jasprit Bumrah, purely for his execution under pressure, new ball he gets wickets, old ball he gets wickets, he's someone who is exceptional over three formats of the game. He's a superstar, big in swing, great yorkers, great slower ball , he's got the whole package," elucidated Finch.
"My number two would be Rashid Khan, what he does with his craft… he's been unbelievable," Finch added.
Three of the Australian cricketers picked Pat Cummins as their choice among the top five current bowlers in world cricket.
"Pat Cummins, in terms of bowling, I think he has to be up there in top five if we are looking at the three different scopes," said Labuschagne
"I will put Pat Cummins in the list, the way he bowls, the pressure he puts, the wickets he takes, he is just sensational to go with some pretty handy lower order runs as well," explained Smith.
"Yeah, Pat Cummins, quite clearly number one in my eyes and obviously seen him in the last two years, the consistency he has, with all three formats to be fair," said Green.
Smith and Green named South African pacer Kagiso Rabada as one of the top five choices.
"Rabada, his record speaks for itself, his strike rate is the best of all time. I think with people who have taken 250 Test wickets so that's quite a good reason, why you're being in this list," explained Green.
"I will put Kagiso Rabada from South Africa, I think he's been a world-class bowler for a while now," said Smith.
Australia spinner Lyon picked compatriot Josh Hazlewood among the top five current bowlers.
"Josh Hazlewood in my eyes is the best fast bowler in the world," said Lyon.