"He has gone far ahead" - Saba Karim on Joe Root's comparison with Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson
Saba Karim believes Joe Root has left Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson far behind in the 'Fab Four' race.
Root scored an unbeaten 115 in the fourth innings of the recently concluded Lord's Test between England and New Zealand. The knock helped Ben Stokes' side chase down a 277-run target and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
During an interaction on India News, Saba was asked if Root had marched ahead of Kohli, Smith and Williamson based on his exploits in the last few years. He replied:
"He has gone far ahead. Joe Root has left the other three batters far behind in the last two years. Whether we talk about consistency, technique or temperament, in all these aspects Joe Root is above everyone at the moment."
Joe Root is the first batter in Test history to reach 10,000 runs milestone in less than 10 years. #EngvNZ
Root has amassed 2192 runs at an excellent average of 56.20 in the 21 Tests he has played since the beginning of 2021. The former England skipper did not have a great run in the Ashes but has been prolific everywhere else.
"Joe Root has single-handedly scored runs and hit centuries" - Saba Karim
Saba pointed out that Root has almost been a lone warrior with the bat for England over the last few years. He explained:
"And we are not discussing one more thing, that if we see England's batting, other than Root, we are not seeing any other name coming to the forefront. It means Joe Root has single-handedly scored runs and hit centuries, he has not got any support from the other end."
The former Indian wicketkeeper-batter added that Team India have not solely relied on Kohli during this period. Saba elaborated:
"If we talk about India, along with Virat Kohli we have Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane and many other batters who have scored runs at the international level and supported him."
While observing that Williamson and Smith have also enjoyed the support of their teammates, Saba concluded by lauding Root for scoring runs all around the globe. The former Indian selector said:
"The same is the case with New Zealand and Australia. Whether it is Indian conditions or Sri Lanka or England, this player (Root) has won matches on his own or has scored centuries. So the importance of that is even greater."
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Kohli has averaged just 30.20 in Tests since the beginning of 2021 and has not scored an international century in almost three years. Smith and Williamson, meanwhile, do average 48.31 and 51.50, respectively, in this period, but have scored just a century apiece.
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