Steve Smith reveals he has learnt a lot from Virat Kohli, ‘copied’ AB de Villiers

Virat Kohli, India cricket team captain, is in the form of his life; scoring centuries at will, creating/breaking records almost every day. Such has been his brilliance in the recent past that there’s daylight between him and the likes of Steve Smith, Hashim Amla and Kane Williamson — who are pitted in the same bracket as Kohli.

Smith, however, admitted that he tries to learn from Kohli and include the Indian captain’s style of play in his game.

“I look at some of the best players around the world and sometimes I do try and bat like them,” Smith told cricket.com.au.

“Little bit of Virat and the way he plays spin, his hands and the way he hits the ball through the off-side. Probably learnt a little bit out of that. I just try and learn. These guys are best players in the world for a reason. You try and get whatever you can out of them.”

Smith has 23 Test centuries but only eight in ODIs. While there



shouldn’t be a comparison between the two, it’s the longer format where the Australian captain makes his strokes look even more graceful. He takes time to settle down, continues with the unique fidgety footwork throughout but gets the job done.

Admitting that he has modified his batting style over the years, Smith added: “In places like India, for instance, I open my hands up a little bit. I don’t feel that I can get nicked off (caught behind the wicket) quite as easily in India as opposed to somewhere like Australia or South Africa.”

However, Kohli isn’t a chosen one. Smith stated that he has learnt even from South Africa’s AB de Villiers and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson. “I’ve copied a bit of what AB de Villiers does. The way I go back and across to open myself up and set myself for the shots. More so when the ball is reversing. A few years ago I tried to bat like Kane Williamson and play the ball really late,” he further went on to add.