Ricky Ponting picks his all-time top-five Test batters, ignores Virat Kohli

Former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting has announced his all-time top-five batters in Test cricket without including Virat Kohli in his list. Kohli was nowhere to be found despite breaking several records and registering 9230 runs in 210 innings in his Test career.

He excluded Kohli and Steve Smith from the Fab Four and instead slotted in Joe Root and Kane Williamson.

“Brian Lara was the most skillful batter I played against and when I was captain, he gave me more sleepless nights than anybody. Sachin was technically as good as anyone I’ve seen, along with Rahul Dravid; I’d put Joe in there now as well, and Kane Williamson,” stated Ponting, as quoted by The Times.

Ponting also explained why he picked Ben Stokes despite the English all-rounder possessing not so flashy stats. 

“Stokes is a hard one. Numbers don’t define him. It’s been about moments with him, he’s a situation player. When things get the toughest, he’s been at his best. When you’re talking about the greats, you’ve got to talk about impact on games,” he added.

I rank players on how long they can stay at the top of their powers: Ponting

Ponting further elaborated on Root’s evolution as a performer despite a modest beginning of his Test career.

“What he’s done the past five years is extraordinary. Look at the numbers: he’s got 13,500 runs. I rank players on how long they can stay at the top of their powers. You can be a great player for 30 to 40 games but can you do it for 150 games? Joe probably wasn’t a great player for his first 100 games — he had 17 hundreds in 97 Tests — but he’s turned into a great player. He has got 21 hundreds in his past 60 games (before the Oval Test),” remarked Ponting.

One notable exclusion from Ponting’s preferences was South Africa’s Jacques Kallis. As of now, he holds the greatest average (55.37) amongst anyone in the top-five leading run-getters in the format.