The Indian skipper is widely regarded as the best batsman of the modern era across all formats.
Considering all these achievements, many cricket pundits have time and again hailed Kohli as the greatest batsman of the modern era.
However, New Zealand batting legend Glenn Turner won’t pick Virat to bat in the seaming pitches amongst the current crop of leading Test batsmen.
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As per Turner, Black Caps captain Kane Williamson is more likely to succeed in such conditions and thus he would go with his compatriot over the Indian great.
“The significant differences between talented batsmen are generated by the playing conditions they were brought up on, along with their personalities,” Turner told The Telegraph from Dunedin.
“Kohli is less likely to have been exposed early in his development to seaming pitches and the ball continuing to swing for extended periods, whereas Williamson will have experienced those conditions more often.
“Kohli’s greater exposure to pitches that take turn will have him more accustomed to playing spin better. Conditions less favourable for swing and seamers will also have allowed him more opportunities to become good at aggressively dominating that type of bowling.
“Besides, Kohli’s personality appears to be more naturally aggressive and confrontational than Williamson’s, but that does not leave either party with less determination to succeed. Their main motivation to succeed is contrasting, but so what!
“I would only say that under tougher batting conditions, I would back Williamson ahead of Kohli. Under good batting conditions, Kohli is likely to be more dominant, thereby providing his team with more time to get a favourable result,” the 73-year-old explained.
Turner was also critical of today’s captains taking a defensive field in Tests.
“I would need to complete a lot more analysis on Kohli’s captaincy in particular. Now, in terms of distinctive features, I have noticed a policy of today’s captains in general being unwilling to set really attacking fields even in a situation when they are in a position of total dominance. I have pondered over the possible reasons for this occurring. It’s a subject that teams need to talk about,” he said.
Glenn Turner also showered rich praise on Williamson for his gracious conduct on the field.
“Williamson has more integrity than most, if not all, of his counterparts. There is a humility about him which reveals modesty, unpretentiousness and graciousness in defeat.
“There may not be an expectation of good behaviour in today’s world. However, particularly with my age group, there is still hope that the authorities will enforce higher standards.
“The laws of cricket are written to deal with miscreants, but there remains a tentativeness to apply the spirit of cricket. I attribute this to three main influences – the escalation of player power, the excessive influence of player associations and the people on cricket boards being largely from alien backgrounds,” he observed.