Who is the best Test batter of this era? Shane Watson answers

Test cricket is fortunate enough to have some world-class batters currently playing the format. As of now, five batters have made it a habit to score runs for fun in the longest format of the game. It would be safe to term them as the top-five greatest Test batters of this era.

Them being Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and Joe Root, Babar Azam and Marnus Labuschagne. It is to be noted that Australia's number three batter is currently the number one ranked Test batter. However, Shane Watson recently ranked these five batters. The legendary all-rounder put Virat Kohli at the top of his list of the best red-ball batters of this era.

"In Test match cricket, I am always going to say, Virat Kohli. It's nearly superhuman, what he is able to do because he has such high intensity everytime he goes out to play," said Shane Watson while speaking to Isa Guha when asked whom he rates as the best Test batter on the Review show of cricket's governing body. He rated Babar Azam as the second-best Test batter.

"Babar Azam is playing incredibly well. It's great to be able to see how he has adapted his game to really move his game to Test cricket as well. Babar Azam would probably be No.2 at the moment," he said. In the meanwhile, he rated the legendary Steve Smith as the third-best batter. Although the batting maestro became the fastest batter to score 7000 runs in this format, Watson felt that he hasn't been at his best of late.

"Steve Smith has just started to come off a little bit. It looks like Smith has really started to play for time a little bit more and is not putting as much pressure on the bowlers as he did when was at his absolute best. For me, Steve has dropped down that list a little bit," added Watson. Further on, he felt that Kane Williamson and Joe Root were the fifth and sixth best Test batters respectively. Although the Englishman has been in superb form, Watson felt that Root hasn't had a peak where he has continuously scored hundreds.

"Kane Williamson has had a few elbow issues," Watson noted of the Kiwi's recent injury woes. Kane knows his game inside out and knows how to put pressure on bowlers in any conditions.

Joe Root recently scored a hundred but he has had a bit of time along the lines of Steve Smith where he hasn't been able to nail the big scores like he has done in the past," Watson said.