“Viv is the best batsman I have ever seen”: When Shane Warne called Sir Viv Richards as the best batter

In 2020, Shane Warne called Sir Viv Richards the best batter he has seen, whereas he also had praise for Virat Kohli.

Shane Warne is arguably one of the greatest players to ever play the game. He was the first bowler in the world to claim 700 test wickets. He ended his career with 708 test wickets, whereas he has 293 ODI wickets under his belt. Warne also bowled the “Ball of the Century” in the 1993 Ashes.

Apart from his on-field records, Warne has had a lot of controversies throughout his career. He failed the drug test ahead of the 2003 World Cup. Warne even passed on the critical information to a bookmaker about the game. He has also been in a rift with Muttiah Muralitharan, Arjuna Ranatunga and Steve Waugh.  Despite all the off-field controversies, Warne is hugely admired in the cricketing circuit.

Shane Warne calls Sir Viv Richards the greatest batter

In 2020, Instagram live was a trend during the pandemic. On one such stream, Warne was selecting his greatest Australian XI. However, the fans asked him a lot of questions regarding other subjects as well. Shane Warne has always been quite honest in his opinions, and he gave some answers to the fans.

He was asked about the greatest batter in the history of cricket. Shane Warne answered the question in three different parts. He hailed Sir Vivian Richards as the greatest batter he has ever seen, whereas he called Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara as the greatest he played against.

Five Wisden Cricketers of the 20th Century: Sir Don Bradman, Sir Garry Sobers, Sir Jack Hobbs, Sir Viv Richards and Shane Warne. #Legends

— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) September 18, 2013

Warne has always been a huge admirer of Virat Kohli. He also said that Virat is challenging Vivian Richards. Warne insists that it is very difficult to overpower Viv, but Virat is pushing the conversation.

“Viv is the best batsman I have ever seen. Sachin (Tendulkar) and (Brian) Lara are the two best batters I have played with and now across all formats, Virat is just the best. It is tough to think anyone is better than Viv but Virat is pushing that conversation,” Warne said.

Sir Viv Richards scored 8540 test runs at 50.23, whereas he also had more than 36000 FC runs under his belt.