Dinesh Karthik picked Virat Kohli over Joe Root as his No. 1 Test batter. However, his choice was purely based on his association with Kohli and acknowledged

In Short

Dinesh Karthik picks Virat Kohli as best Test batter
Karthik makes his choice basis his dedication towards the format
Joe Root is leading the century charts in Tests among Fab Four

England batter Joe Root has been enjoying his purple patch lately and became the country’s all-time leading centurion in Test cricket, surpassing Alastair Cook. Ever since, there has been this ongoing debate about who was the best batter among the current generation of players, especially the Fab 4- namely Root, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith and Virat Kohli. The cricketing experts were giving their opinions over the same and recently, former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik also weighed in on the debate. While he agreed that the numbers favoured Root, his heart said Kohli because of the dedication and commitment he showcased towards the game.

“Numbers will tell you it’s Joe Root, but my heart, the fact that he (Kohli) is someone I’ve seen playing in close quarters for the longest time now, over a decade. I know how he loves playing those big moments and big series. And if somebody asks him questions, he will come to you so strongly that you will be thinking, ‘Wow, why did I even ask that question,” Karthik said in a video on Cricbuzz.

Why Kartik picked Kohli?

“If I were given a question of who would bat for my life, it would be Kohli. No doubt,” Karthik added, further emphasising the dependability on Kohli under pressure.

Kohli vs Root? Who is better

Karthik’s preference might be purely due to his long-term association with Kohli, but the star batter has not stepped up with the bat in the longest format for quite some time. He missed the England series and before that managed a solitary fifty in the South Africa tour. His last and 29th Test century was against West Indies last year.

Root scored the most number of Test centuries since 2021 as he managed 17 tons in this time span. Meanwhile, Kohli, who was leading the Fab 4 list before that could manage only two Test hundreds in this time.

However, Kohli would aim to redeem himself and return to his absolute best in the upcoming home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. His biggest challenge would be the Border Gavaskar series against Australia, starting November, and he would aim to stamp his authority yet again.