Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root higher than me in Tests, says a grounded Virat Kohli

New Delhi: No matter what the era of a sport is, rivalries are bound to take place. Be it Sachin Tendulkar vs Brian Lara, Shane Warne vs Muttiah Muralitharan or Wasim Akram vs Glenn McGrath, cricket has witnessed some of the most fearsome rivalries.

One such rivalry on modern-day cricket is between Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson. The four are unarguably the finest batsmen for their respective countries and barring Root, all are also the captain of their teams.

With the latest ICC Test rankings out, Kohli was found in 2nd place only behind Australia's Smith.

Speaking about the nature of competition in the sport and it's effect on game, Kohli said that it always benefits the game.

“I think it is more for the fans to put us in a group of young players coming up in world cricket. It is a healthy thing and great for the game, as well as a great topic for debate. It is great to know that you are part of a bunch of 4-5 players who are taking world cricket forward,” said the 28-year-old.

Virat also revealed how he tries to distance himself from constant media talks on who is doing good in rankings.

“As an individual, I don’t focus on those things. Honestly, it is a massive distraction. When you are doing good, you feel like looking at the rankings you wanna see what people are talking about and where I am in the race. But when you are not doing well, the same thing backfires and you feel addicted to it. I totally move away from it.”

Talking about who the best batsman is in present situation, the Indian Test skipper tried to settle the debate naming all three of his competitors over him.

“To me, all these players are world class and I always rate them above me, in Test cricket especially, because of the way they have performed in the last one or two seasons and I understand my limitations”.

The Delhi batsman also held special praise for David Warner in limited overs' format.

“In limited overs, yes, I have been performing really well, but I never try to outdo them in the longer format. I understand what I need to do for my team. My aim has never been to go above Joe or Steve or Kane. There is equal respect amongst us, David (Warner) included. I really admire the way all these guys play, and the healthy competition should go on for a few years,” he went on.