Wasim Jaffer Brutally Trolls Steve Smith In Response To Kohli Banter By Australian Channel

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer, noted for his clever social media presence, ruthlessly ridiculed Steve Smith in response to an Australian TV channel's Twitter post mocking Virat Kohli. The 7Cricket Twitter account published a post on Thursday comparing Virat Kohli's and Mitchell Starc's Test batting averages since the start of 2019 to show how the Australian pacer has a higher average than the Indian Test captain. In the last two years, Starc (38.63) has a higher Test batting average than Virat Kohli (37.17).

Jaffer, in his reply, shared the ODI batting averages of Steve Smith and Indian pacer Navdeep Saini. While Smith has an average of 43.34 in ODIs, Saini has a much-improved batting average of 53.50.

"ODI Career batting average: Navdeep Saini: 53.50, Steve Smith: 43.34," Jaffer wrote in his Tweet. The post has garnered more than 37,000 likes since being shared on Twitter.

Kohli's performance since 2019

Kohli, who is known for his batting prowess in all formats, has witnessed a dip in his performance over the last two years, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19. Kohli has not scored an international century in nearly three years. Kohli's last international ton had come against Bangladesh in a pink-ball Test at Kolkata's Eden Gardens in 2019. Kohli's ICC rankings in all three formats have also come down since 2019.

Kohli is currently playing in the ongoing three-match Test series against South Africa. Kohli played the first Test but missed out on the second in Johannesburg due to back spasm. Kohli is expected to play the third match in Cape Town.

Smith, on the other hand, scored a brilliant half-century in the fourth Ashes Test against England on Thursday. However, the Australian batter's average in the 50-over format has not been as great as his Test performances. Smith was recently appointed the vice-captain of the Australian Test squad after being kicked out from the leadership group years ago over his involvement in the sandpaper gate.