Ian Chappell picks Virat Kohli over Steve Smith as the best batsman & captain

Former Australian cricketer Ian Chappell picked Virat Kohli over Steve Smith both as a batsman as well as a captain. Smith is arguably the best Test batsman of this generation and is currently the top-ranked batsman in red-ball cricket whereas, Kohli, on the other hand, is regarded as the best player across formats in the modern-day game. He has been the top-ranked batsman in all three formats of the game and is currently the top-ranked batsman in ODIs and ranked second in Tests. 

READ: Amid Covid, Australia Pip India To Top ICC's Test Rankings; Men In Blue Slip To 3rd Rank

Ian Chappell picks Kohli over Smith

It so happened that during a recent interaction, the 1975 World Cup finalist was asked to pick between Kohli and Smith. However, he even asked whether he had to pick one of them as a batsman or as a captain and when everything was made clear to him, the cricketer-turned-commentator/analyst picked the Indian skipper over his compatriot as the best batsman as well as captain.

Meanwhile, all the global sporting events have either been postponed or cancelled due to the global pandemic. The IPL 2020 that was supposed get underway on March 29 with the tournament opener between last year's finalists and multiple-time champions Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have been indefinitely suspended for now.

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Australia pip India to top Test rankings

India lost the top spot in the ICC Test rankings to Australia on Friday, dropping to third after their stupendous 2016-17 record as eliminated from the annual update as per rules. India's 2-0 loss to New Zealand in the Tests before the coronavirus-forced halt has let them slip by two positions to number three whereas the BlackCaps settled for the second position. Australia also zoomed to the top of the rankings in the T20 format as well, despite taking a beating from a young South African side.

Australia cushions itself at the top of the Test rankings with 116 rating points, followed by New Zealand in the second spot with 115 and India in the third position with 114. In the ODI format, England have retained the number one position followed by India and New Zealand. Australia are on top in the shortest format of the game with 278 ratings, followed by England with 268 and India with 266. 

(Image Courtesy: BCCI)