Why Shane Warne picks Virat Kohli over Adam Gilchrist as the 21st century’s greatest cricketer

The top 50 cricketers of the 21st century as selected by News Corp experts has been announced. So what did Spin King Shane Warne think of it?

What separates greatness from the rest? In cricket, how does a player rise above the pack to be among the very best?

The answer is simple. It is about when they get their runs and wickets.

When do they deliver their very best? It’s generally when the team needs it or is in trouble.

It is in the toughest of times when the greatest players shine through.

They also have the ability to drag other players with them and inspire them — you see that trait in News Corp’s list of the top 50 male cricketers of the century.

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Ricky Ponting possessed a special trait that separates the best from the rest. Picture: Newspix

Ricky Ponting had it, who has been named at No.3 on the list.

Ricky was a hard-nosed and tough competitor. He was one of the greatest batsmen Australia has ever produced and he always performed much better under pressure and when Australia needed him to.

At the top of the list is Adam Gilchrist. He revolutionised the wicketkeeping role.

Every team suddenly wanted a player in the Adam Gilchrist mould to be their batsman and keeper.

It was no longer simply picking the best wicketkeeper, it was about who could bat as well, because Gilly was a matchwinner with the bat and a very good gloveman.

With gloves and bat, Adam Gilchrist had it all.

That package became what every team was looking for, so no longer was the best gloveman in the country automatically in the team.

If a country’s best keeper wasn’t making runs, all of a sudden he was out of the team because everyone wanted the Gilly package. He was brilliant in one-day cricket opening the batting with Mark Waugh.

Apologies, Gilly, but Virat Kohli was my No.1. That’s because of the impact he’s had on the world game and what he stands for in Test cricket.

Warnie’s No.1? The incredible Virat Kohli. Picture: Getty Images

He averages more than 50 in every form of the game and, along with Viv Richards, is probably the greatest one-day batsman of all time.

To me, he’s been the greatest cricketer of the modern era.

Jacques Kallis will go down as one of the all-time great cricketers in every department, alongside Ian Botham, Imran Khan and Gary Sobers.

Kallis has got virtually the same amount of runs as Ricky — plus 292 Test wickets.

Ponting’s 13,378 runs shaves Kallis by just 89, although Punter played two more Tests.

Kallis was hard to get out because he was a stubborn batsman and very patient.

South African legend Jacques Kallis was dominant with both bat and ball. Picture: AAP

What Murali did with the ball we’ve never seen anyone do before and he carried Sri Lanka for such a long time and bamboozled batsmen from all countries.

Then there is Steve Smith, who has been listed here at No.6.

It’s remarkable someone that was a leg-spinning all-rounder could end up as one of the modern “Big Three” with Kohli and Kane Williamson, given his mannerisms and the way he goes about it.

Smith’s got an eye like a dead fish and given the way he practises, it could be true that he loves the game more than anyone else who has played. He never seems to have a bat out of his hand.

Unfortunately Dale Steyn’s career was cut short by injury – but he is one of South Africa’s greatest fast bowlers. His record is unbelievable.

Sachin Tendulkar probably played a few years too long, and he was nowhere near as dominant as he was in the mid-1990s.

But to me, the best batsmen of the last 30 years were Sachin and Brian Lara. It is very hard to split them as the best two batsmen of our time.

If you were picking a Test match World XI it would be a choice between Adam Gilchrist and Kumar Sangakkara as the wicketkeeper. Let the debate begin.

He was a very good wicketkeeper-batsman and once he took the gloves off he became a great batsman. His record of making 200s shows his concentration, skill and just how good he was by making 12 of them.

At No.11 was Glenn McGrath, my partner-in-crime. We helped each other out so much in our heydays.

It was an honour to play with “Pigeon”. He was one of my great teammates and great friends.

Sometimes people forget just how good someone was, but McGrath will go down as one of the best of all time. He was that good.

Originally published as Why Shane Warne picks Virat Kohli over Adam Gilchrist as the 21st century’s greatest cricketer