Kohli and Smith are like Federer and Nadal: AB
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers said Virat Kohli's natural talent makes him a cricketing equivalent of Roger Federer while Steve Smith's mental fortitude matches that of Rafael Nadal.
In an chat with former Zimbabwe seamer Pommie Mbangwa, de Villiers spoke about the two batsmen and compared them with tennis greats Federer and Nadal.
"It's a difficult one, but Virat is definitely the more natural ball-striker, there's no doubt about that," de Villiers said. "In tennis terms, I'd say he's more like a [Roger] Federer whereas Smith is like a [Rafael] Nadal.
"Smith is mentally very strong and figures out a way of scoring runs - he doesn't look natural, but he ends up writing records and doing amazing things at the crease.
"I think mentally, Smith is one of the best I have ever seen. Virat has also scored runs all over the world and won games under pressure," he added.
The world knows Kohli as a prolific cricketer but for de Villiers, he is a friend, who has interests beyond cricket.
"He's much deeper than just a cricket player...I think most people realise after a while that there's more to life than just cricket," de Villiers said. "...Virat's always been a thinker, he experiments (with) a lot of things, he loves trying new things out - gym wise, what he puts in his mouth. He thinks a lot about life after life - what's to come, different religions, we talk about everything."
"Obviously, when it comes to the IPL, it's been more than friendship," De Villiers said, when asked who his best friends in cricket are. "Virat obviously - not only during the IPL, we chat throughout the year, which means it's different than just the IPL or cricketing friendship."
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