‘Surprised by how well he’s done’: Andy Flower asked to pick a better batsman between Virat Kohli or Steve Smith

Virat Kohli and Steve Smith – two of the finest batsmen of the present era. Both have been impeccable with their cricketing brilliance across formats and their greatness has often led to the debate that who is the better and more complete batsman.

Expressing his take on the same, former Zimbabwe captain and ex-England coach Andy Flower has stated that the Indian captain is ‘incredibly skillful and hungry for runs’ while the Australian batting mainstay has done wonders in the longest format of the game.

In a conversation with the Times of India, Flower said that he admires both but won’t pick one or the other.

“Well, it would be difficult to pick between them. Smith has done amazingly well in Test cricket. I have been surprised by how well he’s done. But he’s shown that he can adapt his game and that’s a wonderful quality to be able to adapt and evolve and develop like Smith has done,” Andy Flower told TOI.

“Kohli is incredibly skillful, hungry (for runs), and likes combat. He likes the battle. And I really admire that in him. I admire his energy which is up all the time. I think they have both got very good leadership traits. They’re good role models. I know Steve Smith has had a few battles in that area, obviously. But I admire them both and I’m not going to pick one or the other,” Flower added.

The former Zimbabwe skipper spoke about the times when he had toured India, stating how incredible it was playing in front of a cricket-crazy crowd.

“Coming to India and not only playing in front of these crowds that love the game so much, but touring around the country to all sorts, all different parts of the country. And everyone knowing what was going on in the series, everyone knowing your stats, everyone knowing everything about the Zimbabwe squad. That’s my abiding memory about cricket in India,” said Flower.