Kevin Pietersen believes Virat Kohli better than Steve Smith 'hands down'

The Virat Kohli versus Steve Smith debate has been raging for a while now. While there may never be a definitive answer to who the better player is, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has made his opinion on who the better batsman is known.

“(Virat) Kohli. Hands down. (He’s a) freakshow. His record chasing winning games for India, with the amount of pressure he consistently lives under, Smith doesn’t even come close,” Pietersen told Pommie Mbangwa during an Instagram Live session.

Pietersen believes Virat Kohli is better than Sachin Tendulkar

It is widely accepted that Steve Smith is the better Test batsman, but Virat Kohli beats him when it comes to one-dayers. Pietersen’s answer, however, prompted Mbangwa to go one step further and ask the Englishman about who he thought was the better batsman between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar.

The former England captain refused to shy away from suggesting that the current Indian captain was better than the Master Blaster himself. Citing his more-than-impressive record in run chases, Pietersen believes that Virat Kohli’s match-winning performances place him higher than Tendulkar in the list of the greatest batsmen of all time.

“Again, Virat. Because of his chasing numbers. His chasing numbers are frightening. He averages 80 in chases. All his one-day hundreds come chasing. He consistently wins games of cricket for India. He just keeps turning on the numbers, chasing, chasing, chasing,” Kevin Pietersen said.

According to Pietersen, it is the number of matches that a player wins for his country that truly shows his worth as a cricketer. The pressure under which Virat Kohli plays cannot be matched in the opinion of the former Royal Challengers Bangalore captain.

“And that’s what drives me. My Man of the Match performances. It was not the way that I played or how I played or whatever. It was how many Man of the Match performances… how many games did you win for England? For India, you know that… we get fed those stats in our ear all the time. Unreal numbers,” Pietersen added.