Joe Root ‘a rung below’ Smith and Kohli, says Darren Lehmann
Former Australia coach Darren Lehmann says Joe Root needs to score a century in Australia to compete with India batsman Virat Kohli, Australia batsman Steve Smith and New Zealand batsmen Kane Williamson is regarded as the “greatest of all time”.
Root has scored 35 Test hundreds – the most by an England batsman – but is yet to reach the milestone in an away Ashes series.
He played 27 innings in Australia, averaging 35.68 points per game, with a highest score of 89 points.
Lehmann speaks after Australia Defeated 295 times In the first Test against India, Kohli scored his 30th Test score and seventh Test score in Australia.
Asked if Root fell into the same category, ABC Sports’ Lehmann said: “No, he’s ranked below him for that reason.”
“They’re playing in difficult conditions around the world against different opponents and that’s the only thing that’s stopping Joe Root. I think he’s a great player, but is he the greatest player of all time?
“I don’t have him in that area. I think you have to make hundreds around the world. Smith, Williamson, Kohli, (Rohit) Sharma have — I mean they are all world level player.”
In 2014, former New Zealand batsman Martin Crowe dubbed Root, Smith, Williamson and Kohli the “front four”, touting them as the future greats of Test cricket.
Root has been in sparkling form since England’s last Ashes tour, scoring 12 hundreds and 11 fifties.
Ben Stokes’ side will be hoping to reclaim the Ashes, which was drawn in 2023, in the winter of 2025-26.
They begin a three-Test tour of New Zealand on Wednesday (22:00 GMT).
