"Can Be As Good As Bradman": Brett Lee Picks Steve Smith Over Virat Kohli

Former Zimbabwe cricketer and current commentator Pommie Mbangwa has had numerous chats with some big names on Instagram Live and his latest guest was former Australia pacer Brett Lee. One question that is a mainstay of Mbangwa's chat is when he asks his guests to pick between two of the current greats of the game -- Virat Kohli and Steve Smith. This time was no different as Mbangwa put Brett Lee on the spot and asked him the million-dollar question. Lee, to his credit, decided against sitting on the fence and while he was full of praise for both batting stars, he said "at the moment", he would pick Smith over Kohli.

"Look, it is so hard to pick because there are a lot of qualities in both that I enjoy. I try and look at from the bowling point of view, are there any flaws that I would try and exploit and there are very little.

"They are two different players. You think about Kohli, technically sound, hits through the V. He used to knick off number of years ago, but tightened that up and doesn't knick off as much now and is a lot more disciplined. Super fit, a great lead of his side. Kohli is definitely right up there," the fast bowling great said of Kohli.

Steve Smith captained the Australian team until he was suspended for 12 months over a brazen attempt to alter the ball with sandpaper under his watch during a Test in Cape Town in 2018.

After a year in exile, Smith came back strongly and left his mark as Australia retained the Ashes 2019. Smith was the leading scorer in the Ashes in England with a whopping 774 runs in four matches.

"Steve Smith has been through a lot in the last couple of years, that rise back to stardom with the way he has played over the last 12 months. He is a different batsman as well, very flamboyant, he is so fidgety, 'just relax that's what you think to him' but that's what makes him the player he is," Lee told Mbangwa.

"At the moment, I would go with Steven Smith because of what he has actually been through. You ask me this tomorrow and I might go Kohli. They are so hard to split mate, like splitting hairs and they are two great players.

"He (Smith) could have been as good as (Don) Bradman and still may be that. He's had some time out of the game but he was talked about him doing as well as Bradman in terms of his numbers," added the ex-Australian pacer.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Zimbabwe Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team Brett Lee Virat Kohli Steven Smith Cricket