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Next Fab Four - Babar Azam, KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock and Shai Hope

A Test batting average of 35 doesn’t make a player get into such company irrespective of how good he does in ODI cricket. Test cricket is the main format where a player needs to do well, and ODI cricket adds to his greatness.

There are plenty of players who are better than Smith and Kane in ODI cricket yet they are not in the Fab 4 conversation.
 
I have yet to hear a former or current cricketer who has rated Smith the best batsman in the world. It’s always about Kohli.
 
Chokli said:
There is a fab five.

Kohli, root, Williamson, smith, babar
Click to expand...

Babar is not at the top of his game yet imo. I feel that his strike rotation needs to improve, and he probably will develop a top gear as well. In 2 years time I see him to be at his prime.

Here is how I would rate the above five.

Smith
Defence 9/10
Top gear 8.5/10
Consistency 9.5/10
Impact (a) Match winning ability 9/10 (b) Role in the batting line up 9/10 Overall 9/10
Manipulation of the field (a) Strike rotation 10/10 (b) Boundary Hitting 9/10 Overall 9.75/10
Running Between the wickets 9.5/10
Overall Score: 9.2/10

Kohli
Defence 8.5/10
Top gear 9.5/10
Consistency 10/10
Impact (a) Match winning ability 10/10 (b) Role in the batting line up 9.5/10 Overall 9.75
Manipulation of the field (a) Strike rotation 9.5/10 (b) Boundary Hitting 10/10 Overall 9.75
Running Between the wickets 10/10
Overall Score 9.58/10

Williamson
Defence 9.5/10
Top gear 8/10
Consistency 8.5/10
Impact (a) Match winning ability 8.5/10 (b) Role in the batting line up 10/10
Manipulation of the field (a) Strike rotation 10/10 (b) Boundary Hitting 9/10
Running Between the wickets 9.5/10
Overall Score: 9.04/10

Root
Defence 9/10
Top gear 8/10
Consistency 9/10
Impact (a) Match winning ability 8/10 (b) Role in the batting line up 7/10 Overall 7.5/10
Manipulation of the field (a) Strike rotation 9.5/10 (b) Boundary Hitting 9/10 Overall 9.25/10
Running Between the wickets 9.5/10
Overall Score: 8.71/10

Babar
Defence 8/10
Top gear 8/10
Consistency 9/10
Impact (a) Match winning ability 7/10 (b) Role in the batting line up 9.5/10 overall 8.25/10
Manipulation of the field (a) Strike rotation 8/10 (b) Boundary Hitting 9.5/10 overall 8.75/10
Running Between the wickets 9/10
Overall Score 8.5/10

So the Order imo is
Kohli 9.58 > Smith 9.21 >Williamson 9.04 > Root 8.71 > Babar 8.5

The average of these score is around 9.008, while the standard deviation is 0.38. Kohli being 1.5 s.d's above the mean shows that he is around 87% (if a normal curve is to be assumed), which mean that is by far the best atm. While Babar being 1.31 s.d's shows he has to improve his game a lot to be truly considered in the same bracket, an argument on his part would be that he is just 24, and has time on his side.

PS: ODIs only
 
I do not think Babar is yet in the Root/Kane/Kohli club (Smith is a systematic cheat and not quite on the others level anyway) BUT he is very close to it. In terms of batsmen post that generation, he is in a league of his own, Hope scores too slowly and just isn't skilled enough and Rahul is a nobody.
 
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Hitman said:
A Test batting average of 35 doesn’t make a player get into such company irrespective of how good he does in ODI cricket. Test cricket is the main format where a player needs to do well, and ODI cricket adds to his greatness.

There are plenty of players who are better than Smith and Kane in ODI cricket yet they are not in the Fab 4 conversation.
Click to expand...

Babar was averaging 20 before. He just needs some time to improve. Maybe in the next 2-3 years he can average 45ish.
 
Shubman GIll will challenge Kohli for sure once he gets into stride at the internationals.
 
The Viper said:
Finch is the captain and wants to give his star player a morale boost. Not taking anything away from Smith but it is clear why Finch makes a statement like that.
Click to expand...

He might be biased and i personally do not agree with him either but i am not talking about the motive behind this statement rather the fact that this statement has been made by a current cricketer.
 
The Viper said:
Finch is the captain and wants to give his star player a morale boost. Not taking anything away from Smith but it is clear why Finch makes a statement like that.
Click to expand...

Nobody will disagree with that. IT is even more pertinent given that Smith had a long lay off.
He is no.1 Test batsman with 922 points
He is no.1 ODI batsman with 890 points
 
de Kock shouldn't be on this list. He's much more experienced than the other three and I don't see him becoming a much better batsman than he already is, which is very good but among the best in the world.

Among the other three Babar is clearly farthest ahead, getting better day by day and looking at present like a very complete batsman for all formats.

Shai Hope has improved considerably in ODIs, averages 50+ and looks like a mainstay in the West Indies batting line-up, certainly one for the future.

KL Rahul on the other hand has regressed for me. He has gone from being a good test batsman to a poor one and seems to have shifted his focus more towards limited-overs cricket. His temperament though, needs alot of work. Even in ODIs he looks good, gets starts but then gets out. Interested to see how this stint at No. 4 pans out for him. Could potentially be a doorway to a permanent place in the side for him but on the flip-side could also send him out of the ODI team for a long time given the competition for places in the Indian team.
 
Shai Hope 102* vs India
Babar Azam 102* vs Sri Lanka

A good sunday for me watching your favorite player's making centuries
 
QDK meh he can improve but I doubt he will. Rahul is just not there yet

Hope is too slow in ODIs and has only 2 hundreds in his test career (both came in the same match) and his t20i career is not existent

So I'd say Babar is comfortably ahead of Hope and Rahul but you can't really compare him with QDK as QDK is a no.6/7 batsman in Test matches and an opener in ODIs.
 
Fab 4? They have to do a lot more. We have seen the guys like Trott, Hussey, Kallis, Amla doing well in both formats for longer period never got treated as part of fab 4 fab 5. We have seen players having even crazier picks only to disappear away. Rightnow Babar is in great form. So is Marnus. De kock blows hot and cold. KL Rahul is at best a T20 specialist. He is nowhere close to any list.
 
KingT said:
Why?
Click to expand...
Babar only promising in all formats.
I believe after some time he will fit in current fab 4 by replacing someone.

All payers mentioned above for next fab 4 are not good at all formats.
It's too early to predict next fab 4.
 
Babar Azam is a bit further away from the fab 4, while the other three don't even deserve to be mentioned in this discussion.
 
Fab 4 is just a meme created by the media.

Being in the fab 4 means nothing and is just a talking point.
 
Babar won't be able to be part of any fab 4 until he actually develops a personality and stops with this tame, shy nature of his. This acha bacha personality is the main reason why Pakistani players have lagged behind their Indian counterparts for so long.
 
herapheri123 said:
Babar won't be able to be part of any fab 4 until he actually develops a personality and stops with this tame, shy nature of his. This acha bacha personality is the main reason why Pakistani players have lagged behind their Indian counterparts for so long.
Click to expand...

Ignorant post.

Smith is acha bacha
Kane Williamson even more so.
Root is worse than Babar at being acha bacha and timidness.

Only Kohli is different.
 
babar yes

hope - ? no because he is trash in tests

qdk- maybe but most likely not as his average is plummeting

Rahul- laughable that he is even included in this list.
 
Babar is in a different age group from Kohli, Williamson etc.

He looks to be the best out of this age group.

Hope has scored well in ODI’s but at a slow pace and has done nothing in test apart from that test vs England.

De Kock is a very good ODI player but in tests, being a keeper batsman takes a toll, and Babar will end up scoring more runs.
 
That has to be the saddest fab 4 ever, mr. Inconsistent but 'talented' Indian edition, a west Indian who bats in odi's at a test match's pace and forgets how to bat in test matches, then we have the inconsistent but 'talented' south african edition. And last but not least we have discount kohli the pakistani version.
 
Look out for Will Young, he scored two centuries against a pretty full strength Aus bowling attack in Aus before the WC.
 
jagatk said:
That has to be the saddest fab 4 ever, mr. Inconsistent but 'talented' Indian edition, a west Indian who bats in odi's at a test match's pace and forgets how to bat in test matches, then we have the inconsistent but 'talented' south african edition. And last but not least we have discount kohli the pakistani version.
Click to expand...
The last Fab 4 is down to 2, so it isn't so bad lol.

Although this one looks like a Fab 1 atm with Babar the only one break through to being a contender for best batsmen in the world.

What about that WI middle order batsmen Hetmyer? Always seems to be in the runs and scores them quick.
 
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Aman said:
The last Fab 4 is down to 2, so it isn't so bad lol.

Although this one looks like a Fab 1 atm with Babar the only one break through to being a contender for best batsmen in the world.

What about that WI middle order batsmen Hetmyer? Always seems to be in the runs and scores them quick.
Click to expand...

Which is why there is no new fab 4, when the current fab 4 came around, the timing worked out. It was end of an era, the tendulkars,pontings,sangakaras of the world were at end of their journeys. Those were the new young stars.

Right now the current fab 4 has a good 4-5 years atleast left in them, barring injuries. No one knows who might emerge as the next best in 4 years time. Babar and these 3 below average joes are more like abd in terms of that, they don't belong to the fab 4 generation but they won't belong to what comes after fab 4 either.

You average less than 30 in test matches, you are not a good batsman. And he averages below 40 in odi, and i just checked the last game was only the 2nd time he crossed 50 in last 10 games.
 
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Aman said:
The last Fab 4 is down to 2, so it isn't so bad lol.

Although this one looks like a Fab 1 atm with Babar the only one break through to being a contender for best batsmen in the world.

What about that WI middle order batsmen Hetmyer? Always seems to be in the runs and scores them quick.
Click to expand...

Not really. Players cannot be in form all the time. A good ball, a freak catch, and a run out in sequence is all needed to constitute of poor run for any batsman. Many good players always bounce back. These 4 are very good batsmen.
 
jagatk said:
Which is why there is no new fab 4, when the current fab 4 came around, the timing worked out. It was end of an era, the tendulkars,pontings,sangakaras of the world were at end of their journeys. Those were the new young stars.

Right now the current fab 4 has a good 4-5 years atleast left in them, barring injuries. No one knows who might emerge as the next best in 4 years time. Babar and these 3 below average joes are more like abd in terms of that, they don't belong to the fab 4 generation but they won't belong to what comes after fab 4 either.

You average less than 30 in test matches, you are not a good batsman. And he averages below 40 in odi, and i just checked the last game was only the 2nd time he crossed 50 in last 10 games.
Click to expand...

yup there is never a secondary fab 4 lol It is almost like saying Mcmillan, Prabakar, Chris Lewis, Defreitas as next fab 4 after Kapil,Hadlee,Imran,Botham left.
 
de kock leading with example.

Pant can learn a thing or two from Quinny.
 
At this stage of their respective career, QdK has done more than Babar although Babar looks the better batsman.

QdK has somehow to bat higher in test cricket even if he has to give up the gloves in that format. He is just too good and this SA line up doesn't have the luxury to play him at 6.
 
It's good to see QdK back in the runs, he had fallen away the last few years. Seems like the captaincy and added responsibility has brought about this resurgence.

Latham should really be in this though.
 
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Shai Hope being stuffed down our throats because world cricket needs West Indies to have a star

He’s good but not Fab quality. The Ashraful of West Indies
 
De Cock
Babar
Rahul

Shai hope doesn’t give any hope compared to the other three


Rahul has some serious potential and if he could get his test form going then these three are going to run the show for the next ten years or so.

Not to forget M Labuschange
 
De Kock flopped in the last two world cups.
This should NOT be forgotten when comparing the 3
 
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