3 batsmen who could match the Fab Four of Kohli-Root-Williamson-Smith in the future
The top 4 batsmen of this generation - Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Steven Smith - are collectively called the 'Fab Four'. These four players have been absolutely sensational for their national teams in the last few years, across all formats.
All four of them are fairly young and have many more years of cricket left in them. They have already broken a number of records, and will break a lot more. Interestingly, these four batsmen are the top batsmen currently in the ICC Test Rankings.
A majority of these players have a classical approach to their batting and have scored runs across different conditions. Three out of the four lead their national teams in the Test format. Now with Smith banned for one year he might fall behind in the race, but make no mistake he is one of the best Test batsmen right now if not the best.
Most of them are at roughly the same point in their career, where they have played close to 65 Test matches and are captaining their side. They all might end up playing close to 150 Tests, in the process breaking tons of records.
But there are other emerging batsmen too who can give these four a run for their money in the future. Here, we take a look at three players who have the potential to be compared with the 'Fab Four'.
3. Babar Azam
Babar Azam is Pakistan’s No. 3 in the shorter formats. After 25 ODI innings, he had the most runs by any Pakistani batsman at the same stage; in a short period of time, he has made a name for himself.
Pakistan’s search for a consistent No. 3 finally was completed when Azam started scoring runs consistently. The 23-year-old batsman is currently the No. 2 batsman in the ICC ODI Rankings; he is easily the most consistent batsmen for Pakistan in white-ball cricket.
After 41 ODIs he has scored 1789 runs at an average of 51.11 which is better than Root, Smith, and Williamson. He has seven 100s and seven 50s to his name.
In the T20 format, he has played 20 matches and has a staggering average of 53 at a strike rate of 127.49.
The only format which he hasn’t found his feet in is the Test format. But he has the temperament and technique to succeed there too. The more he plays, the better he is likely to get.