Hashim Amla recently surprised cricket lovers in an interview. When asked to name three batsmen he considers the greatest of all time during a conversation with Star Sports, he picked a name that was a little different from what everyone expected, especially when he left out Sachin Tendulkar, the highest run scorer in cricket history, from the list.
Amla said that his favourite batsmen as a child were Brian Lara, Steve Waugh and Jacques Kallis. This selection was largely influenced by his time and country. Lara’s style, Waugh’s passion and Kallis’s all-roundness—Amla learnt a lot from all three, but now, when he looks back at cricket, his perspective has changed.
Hashim Amla names his three best batters
He picked three new names—Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Viv Richards. Kohli’s consistency, AB’s creativity and Richards’ carefree aggression—all three change the way we look at cricket. Kohli has proved himself in all three formats. AB de Villiers’ batting style breaks conventional boundaries, and Richards, whose career was in a different era than today, still has an impact.
“There are so many great players over the years. Growing up, my three favourite players were Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, and Jacques Kallis, being from South Africa. But now, I’d pick three other names-Virat Kohli in recent times, AB de Villiers, and one more from the old days, Sir Vivian Richards,” Amla said during an interview with Star Sports, as he left out the leading run-scorer of all time in international cricket.
Most interestingly, Sachin Tendulkar’s name was not in this list. Leaving out the player who tops the records, who has been called the God of Cricket, is a departure from the common opinion. Amla probably gave more importance to the impact these players leave on the field than technique or statistics.
Looking at this list, one thing is clear – Amla gives more importance to those batsmen who not only scored runs but also gave a different colour to the game. Kohli’s aggressive thinking, AB’s unconventional style and Richards’ old imposing presence – these three won cricket not just on the scoreboard but with their hearts.
In our opinion, leaving out Sachin is surprising, but Amla’s choice reflects his thinking. Everyone’s definition of ‘greatness’ is different, and that is the beauty of cricket.
