I’d Take Him Both Ways, As Captain and Batsman – Ian Chappell Selects His Best Between Virat Kohli and Steve Smith

Let’s begin by saying that if there is one thing that is unavoidable in the sports industry is comparison between players. Whether it is between Virat Kohli and Steve Smith or Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, comparisons will always exist.

Now, that being said, one of the more recent comparisons that took precedent over certain others is between Virat Kohli and Steve Smith. The one who was put in the hot seat to make a choice between the two players is former Australian captain Ian Chappell.

Ian Chappell selects his best between Virat Kohli and Steve Smith

Before moving forward to what the question and answer was, there’s is something everyone needs to know about him. Ian Chappell is a man who will not hesitate in calling a situation just as it is. He is not going to hesitate for a second before making his choice about which player is better.

Coming back to the topic at hand, during a rapid fire round with Raunak Kapoor, he was asked to choose between Kohli and Smith.

As a response, Chappell first asked whether to select a better batsman or a better captain between the two renowned cricket players.

“As captain or batsman?”

Since Raunak Kapoor did not have any such segregation in mind, he asked Chappell to make his own choice.

“You tell me.”

After this, Ian Chappell made a choice between Virat Kohli and Steve Smith. He said that it does not matter which category it is, he will prefer Kohli over Steve Smith.

“I’d take Kohli both ways, as captain and batsman.”

This will probably be the case for a number of cricket fans globally. Indian cricket fans will select Kohli for the most obvious reasons. However, there are certain things to note here. Virat Kohli is aggressive on-field but he still has led India across all three formats successfully.

On top of that, one of the reasons why Steve Smith is still finding it hard to become the best because coming back from a ball-tampering scandal is not easy at all.

Watch the full interview between Ian Chappell and Raunak Kapoor here