Kills me to say but I would pick Kohli over Root across all formats: Vaughan

Former England captain Michael Vaughan was caught at a crossroads where he had to pick between England’s enigmatic batter and one of the best in the world in Test cricket – Joe Root and modern-day great from India, Virat Kohli.

Playing the game called ‘This or That’ on Cricket.com’s show ‘Unwind’, Vaughan was given a choice to select one among two players, and the list would continue till a player ‘last standing’. The game started with a choice between Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne and India’s Rohit Sharma to determine the best all-format batter. 

The 49-year-old Englishman picked Rohit. But then Root entered the competition and beat Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, Steve Smith, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammad Rizwan and Kane Williamson. 

But when he was presented with an ultimatum to choose between Root and former Indian skipper Kohli, he chose the latter. 

“No, no. Joe Root is in Test cricket, and Virat Kohli is in white-ball format,” Vaughan told Cricket.com on ‘Unwind’.

“So, overall, who would it be? Gun to your head, Root or Kohli? Vaughan, who represented England in 82 Tests, 86 ODIs and two T20Is, said, “It kills me to say, but I would say, but it would be Virat across all the formats.”

Root has been in great form this year, with 986 runs in 11 matches. However, that’s not the same with Kohli, who has faltered in international cricket, barring the final, when he scored 76. Even then, though, Vaughan picked Kohli over Root.

If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here.