‘It’s a marathon race’: Former India batsman weighs in on Steve Smith, Virat Kohli comparisons

Former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja does not want to be drawn into comparisons made between Virat Kohli and Steve Smith and instead said, that people should sit back and enjoy the marathon which was unfolding currently. “It’s a marathon race. It’s very difficult to predict the winner. I think we’re privileged that Kohli and Smith are playing in the same era and we can witness the marathon unfold,” Ajay Jadeja said at an event at DDCA.

However, Jadeja also observed that as far as the ODI numbers were concerned, Indian captain Virat Kohli was well ahead in the race.

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Ever since making his comeback to Test cricket, Smith has been in roaring form and has been the difference between England and Australia in the ongoing Ashes series.

Smith scored 211 and 82 in the fourth Test match at Manchester, to take his Ashes tally to an astonishing 671 runs at an average of 134.2, which includes three hundreds, despite missing England’s one-wicket win in the third Test at Headingley with concussion.

“I’m not sure I have ever played better,” Smith told Sky Sports. “I have enjoyed my time in the middle. I have come back fresh from a year out, but relaxed and chilled out. I want to be the one in the middle doing my job for the team as I don’t particularly enjoy watching cricket.”

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England captain Joe Root conceded that Smith was proving to be the difference between the two sides all through the series.

“Look at the Test matches and there have been times when one guy has made a difference and that has probably cost us the urn this time around,” Root said after the loss in Manchester.