Superstar Virat Kohli

 Kohli's comments on Smith would be a huge accolade on the Australian as it came from another batting stalwart of the current generation.

 There is often a debate among cricket experts about who is the better cricketer between Virat Kohli and Australia stalwart Steve Smith. While many term Virat as a better cricketer in white ball cricket, others call Smith a great in Test cricket. Steve Smith too believes that Virat Kohli is the best white ball batter in world cricket.

 The two top batters of their generation have shown encouraging signs of regaining form -- Kohli with a calm mindset and Smith with a tweak in his technique.

The debate as to who the best batter is among the 'Fab Five' of international cricket may never end, but one Australia legend has rated former India captain Virat Kohli ahead of everyone else in his ranking of the five phenomenal batters in world cricket today.

Former Zimbabwe captain 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.

Virat Kohli is at second spot just behind Aussie batsman Steve Smith in the latest ICC rankings for Test batsmen.

Star batsman Steve Smith said Virat Kohli's unavailability will be a big los s for India in the last 3 Tests but backed the India captain's decision to head home on paternity leave after the day-night Test in Adelaide.

 Australian batsman Steve Smith is currently involved in the limited-overs series against England and will feature in the three-match ODI series starting September 11 before heading to the UAE for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 where he will be seen leading Rajasthan Royals.

Steve Smith and Virat Kohli currently hold the top two positions respectively in ICC Test rankings and have been consistent across formats for a while now. The two stalwarts of modern-day cricket will collide once again when India touchdown in Australia later this year.

Kohli is constantly rated as the best batsman in the world because of his adaptability to different situations and different formats.

"I think I'll leave Steve Smith to be [picked] in the other side. Virat has been my friend. I'd pick Virat ,'' Tendulkar said with a smile as he stopped via a soggy SCG before travelling to Melbourne for Sunday's Bushfire Cricket Bash.

Virat Kohli and Steve Smith have inexorably been compared to each other with regards to who is the better batsman. Both have been incredible and consistent for their respective teams in the past. Many rate them as the two best players in the world at present.

India vs Australia: Though Steve Smith finished the 3-match ODI series as the highest run-scorer, according to Michael Vaughan, Virat Kohli remains to be the best batsman in all formats of the game.

Virat Kohli reclaimed the No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings after Steve Smith scored only 4 and 36 in 2 Tests against Pakistan.

After going past Don Bradman's Test runs tally of 6996 runs, Steve Smith soon became the fastest ever to complete 7000 runs in Test cricket beating legendary names such as Wally Hammond, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

Opener Mayank Agarwal also rose in the rankings , breaking into the top 20. His innings of 108 in the second Test against South Africa helped him progress eight places to reach the 17th position.

Former England spinner Monty Panesar weighed his opinion on the same and said that the former Australia skipper is a better Test batsman than Kohli.

Smith’s player of the match effort of 211 and 82 runs in the two innings has lifted him to 937 rating points . He is 34 points ahead of India captain Virat Kohli.

Despite Virat's already incredible body of work, some feel Steve Smith is a better batsman . But Sehwag doesn't agree.

Virat Kohli said Steve Smith did not deserve to be booed at The Oval after he asked a section of the crowd on Sunday to stop their insulting chants directed at the Australian star.