Marnus Labuschagne picked Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli as his best when he was asked to list ‘perfect batters’ based on the attributes of current and former players.
Sachin and Virat in Labuschagne Perfect Batters List
The video of the conversation was shared on Twitter by cricket.com.au and it was no surprise when he picked the likes of Indian cricket giants – Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli – for their trademark straight and cover drives, respectively.
“For a righty, I’m gonna start with a Sachin Tendulkar’s straight drive. That was a shot you loved seeing. So crisp and pure. Then I’m gonna go with Ponting’s pull shot – his trademark. Everyone loved seeing the full flow of that,” he said.
“I’m gonna have to go with Virat Kohli’s cover drive. I think the way he plays it, the sort of energy that he brings on that ball. Then Kevin Pietersen’s that sort of leg-side shot. Also Pietersen’s aggression at the crease. I love the way he was at the crease. Very similar to Virat Kohli,” he added.
We asked Marnus Labuschagne to build his perfect batter and he got so into it that he named TWO 🤣🤣 #DirectHit pic.twitter.com/rKZYlFxVlJ
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 3, 2022
Labuschagne’s next three picks were his teammate Steve Smith, former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis and former Aussie all-rounder Andrew Symonds.
“I’m gonna have to go with Steve Smith’s hunger for runs and determination and adaptability. And then I have to get Jacques Kallis’ temperament and ability to stay at the crease. Andrew Symonds’ hundred with Haydos (Matthew Hayden). Where he jumped and gave Haydos a big hug. That was awesome,” he said.
The Australian batter further named the perfect left-handers. He went on to pick Matthew Hayden for his magnificent off-drive, Kumar Sangakkara for his cover drive and Justin Langer for his cut shot.
“For the left-hander, I’m gonna start with Hayden’s off-drive and also his energy at the crease. There’s no better, purer cover driver of a cricket ball than Kumar Sangakkara. Cut shot – I’m gonna go with Justin Langer. More of a square drive,” he said.
“It’s quite tough and we have to move Huss (Mike Hussey) from the cover drive but I will give him the pull shot. Alastair Cook’s ability to get in and go big. Cooky when he got going, was just all over. I tell you what, I didn’t mind the bow after 300 ( talking about David Warner’s vs Pakistan). We tease him about it but I think that was pretty coo
