Comparisons being drawn between equally potent cricketers is a trend that doesn’t seem to stop. Even the players themselves come out and tell the people concerned that there are differences in the style of the people in question and there is no point in doing this. But, when this stops, there is another perpetually looming question of choosing your favourite cricketer out of the two names that are given. And, when asked the same thing, Ishant Sharma, who is a mainstay of the Indian Test bowling attack, took a straight forward approach and answered the question.

Ishant, who made his Team India debut back in 2007 has seen his share of ups and downs in his career. But now, his boat is quite stable in the waters of the Indian national cricket team. Playing only the longest format of the sport, that is Test cricket, Ishant has proved his mettle and has been a regular feature in the whites.

The best batsman?

While speaking to Cricbuzz in an interview recently, his answers were as sharp as his deliveries on the field. And, when tasked with choosing his favourite batsman between one of the two best batsmen that India has ever produced, namely Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, he has his answer ready at the tip of his tongue.

As soon as the question came, he answered that his favourite was Virat Kohli and he was unlike any other batsman that Ishant himself had seen with the bat in hand on the field. He said, “Virat Kohli is the best batsman I have ever seen play on a cricket field.”

Ishant has spent a lot of time in cricket on and off the field with the current Indian captain Virat Kohli, whom he fondly calls ‘Cheeku’. Both of them are from Delhi and have progressed through the ranks, into the Indian team together. While Virat stepped into the Indian dressing room in August of 2008, Ishant was there since May of 2007.

The very fact that they have played a lot of cricket together, might have been the reason for Ishant preferring Virat over Sachin. But, it must not be mistaken that the pacer holds Sachin in high regards too, just like everyone else.