Virat Kohli tops former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson‘s list of the best 5 batters in Test cricket despite his failure to score a century since November 2019. Watson picked former Team India skipper ahead of Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, and Babar Azam.

“In Test match cricket, I am always going to say Virat Kohli,” Watson said in his latest episode of the ICC Review when asked who he thought is the best Test batter in the world. 

“It’s nearly superhuman, what he is able to do because he has such high intensity every time he goes out to play,” Watson added.

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Kohli, who currently has a Test batting average of just under 50, is currently at the 10th spot on the ICC rankings. He has scored 27 Test centuries and 28 half-centuries.

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Speaking about Pakistan skipper Babar, who he has kept at number two, Watson noted, “Babar Azam is playing incredibly well.

“(It’s great) to be able to see how he has adapted his game to really move his game to Test cricket as well. Babar Azam would probably be No.2 at the moment.”

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Babar is currently ranked fifth on the ICC rankings. In Pakistan’s recently concluded series against Australia, he hit a superb 196 during the second Test in Karachi and finished the series with a total of 390 runs.

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About Watson’s third best batter Smith, Watson said the Australian star “has just started to come off a little bit.”

“It looks like Smith has really started to play for time a little bit more and is not putting as much pressure on the bowlers as he did when was at his absolute best. For me, Steve has dropped down that list a little bit.”

Smith is second on the ICC rankings, with only Australian team-mate Marnus Labuschagne ranked ahead of him.