Not Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma! Former Pakistan pacer Md. Amir picks ‘hardest batsman to bowl at’

have done very well and are regarded as one of the best batters among the current crop of cricketers.

The 29-year-old Mohammad Amir, who retired from international cricket in late 2020, has had some tough battles on the field versus Kohli, Rohit, Warner, Williamson, etc. In a recent interaction, he was asked to name the ‘hardest batsman to bowl at’. To this, Amir didn’t name Kohli or Rohit.

Speaking to Zee News, Amir called India’s ODI and Test skipper Kohli as the finest batsman in the current generation. However, he named Steve Smith as the toughest batter to bowl at.

“I feel in my opinion, Virat Kohli is the best batsman of this era, although I don’t find it tough bowling against him I feel he’s the best batsman of this era. Steven Smith is the player I feel is a difficult batsman to bowl to personally for me,” said the left-arm pacer.

Amir further explained why he has found it tough versus Smith and stated, “When I played in 2009 Shane Watson was a very difficult batsman to bowl to in white-ball cricket, but now I feel Steven Smith because I don’t understand how Steve Smith bats, I bowl him outside off he’ll flick it to the leg-side, if I bowl him on the legs, he’ll make room and drive that bowl to covers. (laughs). I struggle understanding how Smith bats, really.”

Currently, Amir is representing the Bangla Tigers in the fifth season of the Abu Dhabi T10 Cricket League, in the UAE. After recovering from Covid-19, Amir will now hope to lead the charge of the Faf du Plessis-led Tigers’ bowling line-up in the remainder of the T10 league.

Meanwhile, Kohli is gearing up to return to the Indian Test team for the second and final Test versus New Zealand, from December 3 in Mumbai whereas Smith has been named as Australia’s vice-captain in whites, ahead of Ashes 2021 in Australia.