Australia opening batsman David Warner has weighed in on what makes teammate Steve Smith and Indian captain Virat Kohli such excellent batsmen.

Smith is currently ranked the No 1 Test batsman in the world, but it was Kohli who took over the top spot when Smith was serving his 12-month ban for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal.

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The two, though, have been the best batsmen in red-ball cricket for the past decade and by a country mile as well.

Despite both being extremely passionate about spending time in the middle, Warner says they are both individually brilliant in different ways.

‘When it comes to cricket, they both have got the mental strength, the mental capacity to score runs,’ said Warner on Cricbuzz in Conversation.

‘They both love spending time in the middle. Virat’s passion and drive to score runs is different to what Steve’s would be.

‘Steve is going out there for a hit in the middle, that’s how he sees things. He’s hitting them out in the middle, he’s having fun, he’s enjoying himself, just does not want to get out.’

The two teams are set to clash in a highly anticipated Test series in Australia at the end of the year, where India will be hoping get the better off Tim Paine’s team once again after securing a historic series win Down Under in 2018-19.

Warner and Smith, though, weren’t part of the Australian team that lost to India in that series and their involvement this year could add a lot of spice to what promises a highly entertaining tour.

‘Virat, obviously, doesn’t want to get out, but he knows if he spends a certain amount of time out there, he’s going to score plenty of runs at a rapid rate. He’s going to get on top of you. That allows the guys coming in, especially in the Indian team you’ve got a lot of players who can be flamboyant as well,’ Warner concluded.