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Virat Kohli vs Kane Williamson vs Joe Root vs Steven Smith: Who would you pick in your team?

One point can be debatable or even more than one but overall, Smith is in a different league to the other 3.
There is actually no fab 4 whatsoever, Smith is in another league altogether and then we have a fab 3 behind him.

Let me explain you "Root getting more tougher conditions more often" because you missed the point.

Everyone plays most of his matches at home. <B>And the batting conditions in England are often tougher to bat</B> than what Kohli gets in India, Smith gets in Australia and Williamson gets in NZ.

Yet England don't have an under-25 averaging bowler in past 40 years. These are all non-sense as long as there isn't a context taken into consideration. They have grown up and brought up playing in those conditions. Opening the bat is harder in England because the new ball swings but it's not as tough out there in the middle order.

Anyways, Rooooot has only 4 hundreds in 30 tests combined in S.I.N.A where 'I' replaces 'E' for him.

Kohli has 11 hundreds combined in SENA in 31 tests.

The gap is quite wide. Daylight.
 
Kohli is still better across formats. Although Smith is really improving in LO and becoming consistent in that format.
 
What are the weights you put to every format? All formats counts as much?

Tests
ODIs
T20s

Kohli has scored in ODIs and tests against all the top teams. Away from home as well. In LO he can play the role of a finisher and accumulate as well.
 
Tests
ODIs
T20s

Kohli has scored in ODIs and tests against all the top teams. Away from home as well. In LO he can play the role of a finisher and accumulate as well.
You will rate Finch higher than Pujara?
Finch is very good player in ODI's and T20's (2 formats) and Pujara is very good in Tests?
 
Yet England don't have an under-25 averaging bowler in past 40 years. These are all non-sense as long as there isn't a context taken into consideration. They have grown up and brought up playing in those conditions. Opening the bat is harder in England because the new ball swings but it's not as tough out there in the middle order.

Anyways, Rooooot has only 4 hundreds in 30 tests combined in S.I.N.A where 'I' replaces 'E' for him.

Kohli has 11 hundreds combined in SENA in 31 tests.

The gap is quite wide. Daylight.

Isn't it daylight between Kohli and Smith in everything I highlighted in that post?
It's not because kohli is way ahead of Root in one stat that he is daylight in front of him. You can find one stat in favor of everyone. For example Williamson average in wins.
 
Isn't it daylight between Kohli and Smith in everything I highlighted in that post?
It's not because kohli is way ahead of Root in one stat that he is daylight in front of him. You can find one stat in favor of everyone. For example Williamson average in wins.

Firstly, the argument that Root plays in touch home conditions while Smith and Kohli and Williamson are playing in easy conditions at home does not make sense.

Kohli had to tackle the rank turners at home which was quite famously criticized by certain people who felt that India doctor pitches at home to win as many games as possible and attain the no.1 ranking. Secondly, by all stretch of imagination, if there is one batsmen who had luxury of playing on really flat home wickets that was Smith in Australia and it's only in recent times that things seems to be changing. So, his stats are certainly boosted by those flat wickets making him look daylight to the second best and I can assure the fans of Chappells, Waughs and Pontings would be first to point it out.

Coming to Root, I found daylight between Kohli and Root in some of the stats which you highlighted and are important. Runs in wins don't make enough sense though. Imagine Rahul Dravid not having that England series of 2011 in his career. His runs in wins would have been much better. But his legacy won't have been of an all-time great if not for that series.

<B>Kohli, Root</B>

Career Avg- 53, 48
Innings per hundreds- you know it
Away test hundreds

More importantly, time and again, Root has been overshadowed by one of his contemporary player from his own team with the bat.While Root scores pretty fifties which ends up with no impact, he can learn a thing or two from one of his own teammate to how to win games and make a difference to the result in the team. Root averages 38 in Australia (which is a surprise itself) but the match results in Australia for his team is 0-9(10 tests).
 
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Firstly, the argument that Root plays in touch home conditions while Smith and Kohli and Williamson are playing in easy conditions at home does not make sense.

You have flat tracks and bowling tracks everywhere. I just said the conditions are tougher more often in England. But even in England you have some flat tracks.


Kohli had to tackle the rank turners at home which was quite famously criticized by certain people who felt that India doctor pitches at home to win as many games as possible and attain the no.1 ranking. Secondly, by all stretch of imagination, if there is one batsmen who had luxury of playing on really flat home wickets that was Smith in Australia and it's only in recent times that things seems to be changing. So, his stats are certainly boosted by those flat wickets making him look daylight to the second best and I can assure the fans of Chappells, Waughs and Pontings would be first to point it out.

Who is denying that?
Smith, has by a fair distance the flattest home tracks from the fab 4. But didn't you see the stats I posted? Smith has an away average of 60 compared to the other three who averages around 44. If it was only home runs it wouldn't have meant that much for Smith.
Runs in Australia over the last decade doesn't value as much as runs in England for example.
As you can see, the likes of Kohli have who averages around 35 in England, NZ and WI has averages over 50 in Australia. It's also because of those flat tracks.

Coming to Root, I found daylight between Kohli and Root in some of the stats which you highlighted and are important. Runs in wins don't make enough sense though. Imagine Rahul Dravid not having that England series of 2011 in his career. His runs in wins would have been much better. But his legacy won't have been of an all-time great if not for that series.

<B>Kohli, Root</B>

Career Avg- 53, 48
Innings per hundreds- you know it
Away test hundreds

More importantly, time and again, Root has been overshadowed by one of his contemporary player from his own team with the bat.While Root scores pretty fifties which ends up with no impact, he can learn a thing or two from one of his own teammate to how to win games and make a difference to the result in the team. Root averages 38 in Australia (which is a surprise itself) but the match results in Australia for his team is 0-9(10 tests).

You find daylight between Root and Kohli but not Kohli and Smith. that's called bias. Don't worry, you are not alone.
53-48 sounds daylight to you, but 63-53 is fine.
Away average of 60-44 is also fine.
Keep it up.
 
lol pitches may be flat in australia but you do realize it's pacey and bouncy track right?

Totally different to your sub continent flat tracks. Totally different buddy. English players and new zeland players are terribly bad vs bounce in australia. Only indian players were able to handle it. Give some respect.

indian ones can't play swing and that's exactly why we lose in England and n.z.
 
I think Root is a fabulous batsman. In fact, he is my favorite batsman in the game at the moment. I love his technique. In my opinion, he is the best in the world when it comes to playing swing bowling. He plays the ball so, so late and his back-foot punches through the cover are fantastic to watch.

I also think his 50-100 conversion rate is a problem but an overstated one. In spite of not getting enough hundreds, he rarely falls cheaply in any conditions against any attack, and his contributions are often more valuable than some big hundreds by other players.

However, he is very clearly not better than Kohli, who is already among the top 5 greatest batsmen in history. Anyone who wants to insist that there is not a considerable gap between the two is simply not genuine and has an ax to grind against Kohli.
 
On current form I would pick Smith. Doing well in all formats at the moment, whereas Kohli is horribly out of form (and out of his mind). I would pick Williamson over Root.
 
I think Root is a fabulous batsman. In fact, he is my favorite batsman in the game at the moment. I love his technique. In my opinion, he is the best in the world when it comes to playing swing bowling. He plays the ball so, so late and his back-foot punches through the cover are fantastic to watch.

I also think his 50-100 conversion rate is a problem but an overstated one. In spite of not getting enough hundreds, he rarely falls cheaply in any conditions against any attack, and his contributions are often more valuable than some big hundreds by other players.

However, he is very clearly not better than Kohli, who is already among the top 5 greatest batsmen in history. Anyone who wants to insist that there is not a considerable gap between the two is simply not genuine and has an ax to grind against Kohli.

The biggest gap in test cricket is still between Smith and Kohli as I have shown in my post. But you will ignore it because you don't have any answer so you prefer to go to non factual talks and try to put your opinion as a fact.
 
The biggest gap in test cricket is still between Smith and Kohli as I have shown in my post. But you will ignore it because you don't have any answer so you prefer to go to non factual talks and try to put your opinion as a fact.

smith is miles ahead until kohli proves otherwise. smith has been better than kohli vs swing conditions smith is GOAT.

smith is a warrior.
kohli is a great player no doubt but smith is better. The only way kohli can get ahead is if smith fails vs india layer this year. Kohli has always played well vs australia cause he is fired up to face them but smith does well vs india too.
 
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Of the 4, my favourite actually is Williamson.

I think, Smith will show decline in few years time because his game is based of eye sight & reflex, his technique is not perfect, neither watertight. Even at the age over 35, Dravid scored 3 hundreds in UK; which probably won’t happen for Smith.

Kohli is going through a bad patch, how well he comes back will determine his final status as a super batsman. Root is a brilliant batsman, but he has a big issue of conversion

Of the four, I think Williamson has the best technique- if he keeps his fitness, he’ll last the longest. He plays for NZ, so he’ll end with lot less in volume.
 
Smith has been head and shoulders above every test batsman in the world for over half a decade. This hasn't changed. Smith is the most dominant test batsman of his era by far, nobody has ever been this ahead of his peers since Bradman. Not Tendulkar, Not Viv, Not Sobers.
 
Smith has been head and shoulders above every test batsman in the world for over half a decade. This hasn't changed. Smith is the most dominant test batsman of his era by far, nobody has ever been this ahead of his peers since Bradman. Not Tendulkar, Not Viv, Not Sobers.

yep. Aussies are so lucky to have a GOD tier player like him.
 
Of the 4, my favourite actually is Williamson.

I think, Smith will show decline in few years time because his game is based of eye sight & reflex, his technique is not perfect, neither watertight. Even at the age over 35, Dravid scored 3 hundreds in UK; which probably won’t happen for Smith.

Kohli is going through a bad patch, how well he comes back will determine his final status as a super batsman. Root is a brilliant batsman, but he has a big issue of conversion

Of the four, I think Williamson has the best technique- if he keeps his fitness, he’ll last the longest. He plays for NZ, so he’ll end with lot less in volume.
Agree with the technique of Williamson. But surprisingly he hasn't done well against top teams.
He will really need to rectify that to surpass any of the other three.
 
Of the 4, my favourite actually is Williamson.

I think, Smith will show decline in few years time because his game is based of eye sight & reflex, his technique is not perfect, neither watertight. Even at the age over 35, Dravid scored 3 hundreds in UK; which probably won’t happen for Smith.

Kohli is going through a bad patch, how well he comes back will determine his final status as a super batsman. Root is a brilliant batsman, but he has a big issue of conversion

Of the four, I think Williamson has the best technique- if he keeps his fitness, he’ll last the longest. He plays for NZ, so he’ll end with lot less in volume.

Williamson’s best technique is largely for show only. His record against the best bowling attacks is clearly inferior to the other three.

Excellent player but overrated on this forum because of the prevailing anti-India and anti-English bias.
 
The biggest gap in test cricket is still between Smith and Kohli as I have shown in my post. But you will ignore it because you don't have any answer so you prefer to go to non factual talks and try to put your opinion as a fact.

I don’t agree with your “stats”. Smith is a better Test batsman but not by a big margin. However, considering all formats, Kohli is a better batsman than Smith by a massive margin.
 
Smith has been head and shoulders above every test batsman in the world for over half a decade. This hasn't changed. Smith is the most dominant test batsman of his era by far, nobody has ever been this ahead of his peers since Bradman. Not Tendulkar, Not Viv, Not Sobers.

I’d say that is more to do with the weakness of the modern era compared to the fifties through nineties. There are maybe three or four guys as good as Weekes, Worrell, Walcott, Kallicharan, Rowe, Lloyd, Chappell, Border, Crowe, Gooch, Gower, Thorpe, KP, Lara, Gavaskar, Azhar, Dravid, Waugh, Hayden, Ponting, Gilchrist today.
 
Williamson’s best technique is largely for show only. His record against the best bowling attacks is clearly inferior to the other three.

Excellent player but overrated on this forum because of the prevailing anti-India and anti-English bias.

Williamson is my favorite batsman - I didn't say he is the best of the lot.

Can't say about the forum, but I actually rated Williamson among best few years back, still do - and the guy did make me proud in last WC. I am sure Indians are not anti-India and each of them will agree that Willamson outperformed everyone (of the other 3), including their Captain in the biggest stage.

I didn't go through the detailed stats, but on top of mind, I can say Williamson carries the weakest of the four batting line up and he plays less Test to make bulk amount of runs when in form - every great batsman actually made mega runs from few 4-5 Tests series, which Williamson doesn't get. And, I think Joe Root is given due respect here by most - he is exactly what he is, a brilliant LO player (probably 2nd in list), and inferior to other three in Test - overall, he'll come 4th in my list, that doesn't mean I under-rate him.

And, despite anti-India bias, Kohli is the highest rated batsman in ODI here in PP unanimously - he is not even close to what Smith is now in Test cricket. Overall, Test batting is rated much higher than T20 or ODI batting, hence in my list Smith will come as top & Kohli close 2nd for this generation. I'll put Will at three and Root last (still ahead of Babar) - Will still is my favorite batsman despite being 3rd in my own list.

But, I saw somewhere you to write Kohli ... day light.... Smith, Root, Will (or Will/Root) ....... that's your pro-India bias - most of the Indians here will be ashamed themselves had any Indian tried to sell that.
 
Agree... guy with 70 International tons is massively overrated in world cricket...need to work hard to reach level of smith williamson and root
 
just because Williamson plays less games doesn't mean that he would perform well should he play more matches. More matches means more tapes available to study and analyze in depth. Something old farts don't understand when they try to compare the batting standards of 50s 60s and 70s/80s etc. Post 2010, it's even more detailed as every reaction by the player is taken into account on a frame to frame basis.

Williamson may get figured out or he may able to survive and make a name.

Just like how pakistam believe they would perform better should they play more games. No lol. You could be exposed even further as more teams will work on figuring out a method to neutralize you.

imagine pakistan touring australia for a 4 match series. Would be a blood bath. Or hell even south africa. More doesn't always mean better. Workload management is another aspect that is overlooked not all players are beasts like kohli who can play non stop cricket. Too many unfit players out there. They will break down quite easily. Kohli plays by far the most amount of cricket out of the fab 4. If he played similar amount of games to smith I reckon he would beat him. But for now smith is GOAT. Kohli needs to sacrifice t20 games to compete with him.
 
Williamson is my favorite batsman - I didn't say he is the best of the lot.

Can't say about the forum, but I actually rated Williamson among best few years back, still do - and the guy did make me proud in last WC. I am sure Indians are not anti-India and each of them will agree that Willamson outperformed everyone (of the other 3), including their Captain in the biggest stage.

I didn't go through the detailed stats, but on top of mind, I can say Williamson carries the weakest of the four batting line up and he plays less Test to make bulk amount of runs when in form - every great batsman actually made mega runs from few 4-5 Tests series, which Williamson doesn't get. And, I think Joe Root is given due respect here by most - he is exactly what he is, a brilliant LO player (probably 2nd in list), and inferior to other three in Test - overall, he'll come 4th in my list, that doesn't mean I under-rate him.

And, despite anti-India bias, Kohli is the highest rated batsman in ODI here in PP unanimously - he is not even close to what Smith is now in Test cricket. Overall, Test batting is rated much higher than T20 or ODI batting, hence in my list Smith will come as top & Kohli close 2nd for this generation. I'll put Will at three and Root last (still ahead of Babar) - Will still is my favorite batsman despite being 3rd in my own list.

But, I saw somewhere you to write Kohli ... day light.... Smith, Root, Will (or Will/Root) ....... that's your pro-India bias - most of the Indians here will be ashamed themselves had any Indian tried to sell that.


Across all formats, it is an indisputable fact. Even if you rate Test cricket more (rightly so, so do I) and consider Smith a superior Test batsman than Kohli (again, so do I), Kohli is so far ahead in white ball cricket that across all formats, Kohli is a galaxy ahead of Smith.

Again, it is not Kohli’s fault that Smith is too proud or too arrogant to worry about ODI cricket outside World Cups, and is not ashamed of the fact that a batsman of his class has less ODI hundreds than Hafeez and Malik by the age of 30.
 
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Across all formats, it is an indisputable fact. Even if you rate Test cricket more (rightly so, so do I) and consider Smith a superior Test batsman than Kohli (again, so do I), Kohli is so far ahead in white ball cricket that across all formats, Kohli is a galaxy ahead of Smith.

Again, it is not Kohli’s fault that Smith is too proud or too arrogant to worry about ODI cricket outside World Cups, and is not ashamed of the fact that a batsman of his class has less ODI hundreds than Hafeez and Malik by the age of 30.

Even without putting extra weight to Test cricket, there could be a THIN RAY between Kohli & Smith ..... and that's true, even if we put extra weight to ODI..... forget about galaxy or day light.

I give your own logic - bilaterals carry hardly any significance ....... (rest I guess you can understand, I can write two pages on this from PAK's No. 1 T20 ranking to Rashid Khan's heroics....) This guy Smith played some of the most significant innings in ICC events for last few years, and what Kohli did, you may ask Indians here.

Anyone can rank these four in their order & probably can put some logic in it - because all four the top quality players and have delivered under pressure. And, if I am not wrong, all four have been No. 1 Test batsman by ICC ranking at some point of their career, at least among top 3. But, then if you come with words like "Day Light", "Galaxy" ..... to separate one of them from other three, people will react...you know. Unfortunately, that's exactly what you are looking for here, therefore I don't think I'll be able to convince you.
 
Even without putting extra weight to Test cricket, there could be a THIN RAY between Kohli & Smith ..... and that's true, even if we put extra weight to ODI..... forget about galaxy or day light.

I give your own logic - bilaterals carry hardly any significance ....... (rest I guess you can understand, I can write two pages on this from PAK's No. 1 T20 ranking to Rashid Khan's heroics....) This guy Smith played some of the most significant innings in ICC events for last few years, and what Kohli did, you may ask Indians here.

Anyone can rank these four in their order & probably can put some logic in it - because all four the top quality players and have delivered under pressure. And, if I am not wrong, all four have been No. 1 Test batsman by ICC ranking at some point of their career, at least among top 3. But, then if you come with words like "Day Light", "Galaxy" ..... to separate one of them from other three, people will react...you know. Unfortunately, that's exactly what you are looking for here, therefore I don't think I'll be able to convince you.
Aus have won 4 test matches in Eng since 2015 and Smith is MOM in all of them. Goes to show he performs when it matters the most
 
smith is lucky kohli gives importance to all 3 formats. Were he to not take t20 seriously, he would overtake smith in test cricket as well. Hold on to it smithy while you can.
 
I don’t agree with your “stats”. Smith is a better Test batsman but not by a big margin. However, considering all formats, Kohli is a better batsman than Smith by a massive margin.
Stats are nothing to agree with or not. They are facts in this case.
What we can agree upon or not is if these facts are good enough to judge between batsman.

Nothing surprising that you will not take them and you will not try to explain why.
 
Williamson is my favorite batsman - I didn't say he is the best of the lot.

Can't say about the forum, but I actually rated Williamson among best few years back, still do - and the guy did make me proud in last WC. I am sure Indians are not anti-India and each of them will agree that Willamson outperformed everyone (of the other 3), including their Captain in the biggest stage.

I didn't go through the detailed stats, but on top of mind, I can say Williamson carries the weakest of the four batting line up and he plays less Test to make bulk amount of runs when in form - every great batsman actually made mega runs from few 4-5 Tests series, which Williamson doesn't get. And, I think Joe Root is given due respect here by most - he is exactly what he is, a brilliant LO player (probably 2nd in list), and inferior to other three in Test - overall, he'll come 4th in my list, that doesn't mean I under-rate him.

And, despite anti-India bias, Kohli is the highest rated batsman in ODI here in PP unanimously - he is not even close to what Smith is now in Test cricket. Overall, Test batting is rated much higher than T20 or ODI batting, hence in my list Smith will come as top & Kohli close 2nd for this generation. I'll put Will at three and Root last (still ahead of Babar) - Will still is my favorite batsman despite being 3rd in my own list.

But, I saw somewhere you to write Kohli ... day light.... Smith, Root, Will (or Will/Root) ....... that's your pro-India bias - most of the Indians here will be ashamed themselves had any Indian tried to sell that.

More than anyone here or elsewhere, Kohli himself be ashamed by the amazing overrating Mamoon does about him, be it batting or captaincy.
 
Aus have won 4 test matches in Eng since 2015 and Smith is MOM in all of them. Goes to show he performs when it matters the most

India has won a series in Australia and Kohli did average 40 in it.
But when it's about high scoring draw matches in Australia, he has scored 4 hundred on the same tour.

That's soft runs scoring at his best.
 
smith is lucky kohli gives importance to all 3 formats. Were he to not take t20 seriously, he would overtake smith in test cricket as well. Hold on to it smithy while you can.
These days Smith is playing all three formats and doing better than Kohli in ODI's and tests.

Let's see how they do over this year with lot of t20 cricket around.
 
In past 10 years, my personal favourite batsmen have been AB de Villiers, Steven Smith and Kane Williamson. Among Indians, KL Rahul is very close but honestly I don't have any favourites now. Ben Stokes has really been everyone's favourites since the WC final and more so after that Ashes test inning and he too is a recent addition.

Surprisingly, Virat Kohli is not among my most favourite cricketers but it's only from last one year or two that I started praising him a lot.
 
The only ODI series he dominated in SENA. And again, that was against a non performing SA team.

He often boosts his stats in soft situations.

Steven Smith has already given his country a world cup and that too by outperforming Kohli comfortably.

betaa smithy did well in home conditions. kohli is due to play in 2023 at home too. what if he wins there? kohli already won a world cup.
 
Good to see Smith moving mountains in ODIs now that he is focusing on the format.
 
Even if Smith lives “three janams”, he will not come close to Kohli in ODIs.

He is 30 years old and has less ODI hundreds than Hafeez and Malik.
 
I would pick Smith as he is the most complete batsman of his age. I know his ODI performances may not be as impressive as some of the others but his test batting makes up for it. Add to that his phenomenal WC 2015 and his impact for Australia has been greater than the others and their respective teams. Not to say Kohli, Williamson and Root are not great.
 
If we discuss ODI cricket, Kohli averages 59 at SR of 93 and has 11800 runs. Really don't see anyone reaching such heights.

Btw, who is second to Kohli in terms of average with say, 5000 runs to his name? There is really no active player in the world who is anywhere close to Kohli in ODI cricket.

His contemporaries, Root, Williamson and Smith are having 5900, 6100 and 4200 runs to their name at average of 51, 47 and 42 respectively.

In a 90s era, the equivalence of this is

Kohli averaging 45@SR 85 with 8500 runs

Williamson averaging 37@SR 74 with 4000 ODI runs

Root averaging 39@SR 78 with 3800 ODI runs

Smith averaging 33@SR 77 with 2800 ODI runs.
 
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The only ODI series he dominated in SENA. And again, that was against a non performing SA team.

He often boosts his stats in soft situations.

Steven Smith has already given his country a world cup and that too by outperforming Kohli comfortably.

Non performing SA team ? Come up with better excuses next time.

Kohli has given his country a worldcup and a champions trophy :shh
 
Smith simply doesn’t have the talent or the technique to be consistent across all formats.

His technique is perfect for Test cricket but it prevents him from performing consistently in Limited Overs cricket.

Kohli is undoubtedly the best cricketer in the world when you take all formats into consideration even if you give Test cricket the greatest importance.

This era will be remembered for Kohli and not Smith. In addition, Kohli is a record breaking Test captain who is on his way to overtaking Graeme Smith as the most prolific Test captain of all time.

On the other hand, Smith is a cheat who got owned, and will probably never be trusted again by CA in a leadership role.

Kohli > > Smith as cricketers, but purely as a Test batsman, Smith is ahead.

However, the gap between Smith and Kohli in Test cricket is far smaller than the gap between Smith and Kohli in ODI and T20 cricket in spite of Smith’s superior performances in World Cup knockouts.

When there are galaxies between two ODI batsmen, performances in World Cup knockouts cannot bridge the gap.

Any batsman who has less ODI hundreds than Hafeez and Malik by the age of 30 has no claim at being the best batsman of his era.

Smith is a mediocre ODI batsman in spite of World Cup knockout performances. Take the World Cup away and he is a complete nobody in ODIs.

On the other hand, in spite of underachieving in World Cup knockouts, Kohli is the GOAT ODI batsman. His competition is only with himself.

With or without World Cup knockout performances, he has surpassed every other ODI batsman. If he delivers in World Cup knockouts in 2023, he will only widen the gap between him and the second best ODI batsman of all time.
 
In tests, i would pick Smith because he is by far the best player. In LOIs, i would pick Kohli if it's a random bilateral series, especially if it's against teams like SL and WI on flat pitches. However, i would pick Joe or even Kane if it's a WC and particularly an important match.
 
Even if Smith lives “three janams”, he will not come close to Kohli in ODIs.

He is 30 years old and has less ODI hundreds than Hafeez and Malik.

And even if Kohli has his full quota of 7 janams he will not reach Smith as a batsman.

Smith is the greatest batsman of his generation.
 
Even if Smith lives “three janams”, he will not come close to Kohli in ODIs.

He is 30 years old and has less ODI hundreds than Hafeez and Malik.
Lol why you so antsy
 
kohli is the best all formats batsman when in form.

smith is the better test batsman. I want to see kohli focus on one format I.e test and forget about t20. Then he will close the gap between him and smith comfortably.

He has proved himself to be a great odi player. Just needs to perform for india in the KO stages. He already has won a WC and champions trophy.

:salute
 
kohli is the best all formats batsman when in form.

smith is the better test batsman. I want to see kohli focus on one format I.e test and forget about t20. Then he will close the gap between him and smith comfortably.

He has proved himself to be a great odi player. Just needs to perform for india in the KO stages. He already has won a WC and champions trophy.

:salute

It's exactly what he has done on this NZ tour.
He has openly said that the main matches are the test matches. That means he will give his best in them.
 
It's exactly what he has done on this NZ tour.
He has openly said that the main matches are the test matches. That means he will give his best in them.
then why play pointless odi series vs australia and n.z prior to the test game instead of playing red ball cricket? it's all about the money for these guys. kohli is the richest player in the world (cricket). He should know how to manage his workload and not get fatigued.
 
then why play pointless odi series vs australia and n.z prior to the test game instead of playing red ball cricket? it's all about the money for these guys. kohli is the richest player in the world (cricket). He should know how to manage his workload and not get fatigued.

Kohli is an international superstar brother :sachin people around the world watch Indian's matches because of him, if Kohli doesn't play I don't think an Irish fan or Banadeshi fan will turn on TV to watch Pant Yadav etc. As you mentioned above he has scored 70 centuries and after one failure people are criticising him, some are even stating 'fitness is overrated.' Kohli is the only player from India who has the attitude of Aussies of 2000. The other time I'll watch India play is for Rohit. Smith, Williamson, Root boot are side actors, Asli hero is Kohli
 
Smith has always been the best test batsman out of the 4. Kohli/Root/Williamson are much closer. I would put Kohli ahead of the two due to Kohli's better away stats (and overall).
 
I would say,

In Tests -

Smith - 9.5
Root/Kohli - 8.5
Kane - 8.0
 
Is there even competition here in terms of "who would you pick"?

Williamson is the only genuine number three. Root and Kohli bat at 4 and Smith has batted at anywhere from 4-6 in his prime years so far.

In terms of who is the best right now, its undoubtedly Root and I hope he features in the ODI set up again more regularly as they surely need him. I'd say Williamson is 2nd and then Smith, Kohli in his worst trough.
 
Defo not KW he is the weakest of the bunch and so over rated.

I would pick Smith in Tests, Root in ODI’s and Kohli in T20
 
The most important stats for an English batsman is how he has performed in Ashes especially away from home.
Bcoz that's the pinnacle of test cricket for them.
Now Joe Root doesn't even have a single ashes century in Australia, that is definitely a big letdown.
Also he averages 40 in Ashes which is quite mediocre for a batsman as good as him.

On the other hand Kohli averages 52 against Australia which increases to 55 away from Home. He has 6 centuries in Australia from Adelaide to Perth to SCG to MCG. That is what you call dominating your biggest Rival.

Smith is on another level, so let's not talk about him.

Root needs to have 2 mega Ashes and score some runs on actual turners unlike the featherbeds he scored runs on and then failed throughout the series.

Kane Williamson is definitely the weakest of the lot, he is probably the best captain though.
 
Also in Odis and t20s, all three of them Combined don't come anywhere close to the legacy of Kohli.
So there's no argument on that front.
 
Is Kohli already numbe fourr in tests?

Smith was never in the same race as the others. Altought it seemed at one point that Kohli will be number 2 now the things have changed drastically in the past 2 years.

Root having one of the best years a cricketer can have. Williamson winning and scoring in the final. On the other side Kohli's average is quickly approaching 50. Kohli will have to do very well over the next 3-4 years to be considered better than Root and Williamson. Both if them are quite younger than him.
 
Root
Smith
Williamson
Kohli

In that order.

Having said that, Smith is on a decline too and expect Williamson to take the 2nd spot.

Kohli is not even in the race anymore.
 
Something I found quite interesting:

In all test cricket played since the start of the first ever WTC in August of 2019 to now, the 3rd highest run getter in none other than Ben Stokes, with an exceptional all rounders average of 46.

Of the so called "Fab Four" only Root (high run scorer) and Smith (5th) are ranked in the top 5.

The next of the Fab Four is Williamson at 10 and Kohli at 12...less run than even Jos Buttler.

Of course, averages negate differences in numbers of games played, so using a cut off of at least 5 tests:

Only one of the Fab Four makes it into the top 5, and that is Smith who averages a shade under 64. The next in line is Williamson, averaging 57, ranked at 6th...a single spot above Babar Azam, who has an average of 56 with more runs than Williamson. Root comes in at 8 and Kohli is ranked a whopping 23 places lower at 31.

It seems the Fab Four are not the only batsmen worth talking about any more, Stokes may be ranked as the most useful cricketer and when playing, the pivotal man in England. Batsmen like Labushagne and Babar (second best average in WTC 1) are ready to claim the throne and someone like Kohli is in a serious lean patch...or career decline.
 
Something I found quite interesting:

In all test cricket played since the start of the first ever WTC in August of 2019 to now, the 3rd highest run getter in none other than Ben Stokes, with an exceptional all rounders average of 46.

Of the so called "Fab Four" only Root (high run scorer) and Smith (5th) are ranked in the top 5.

The next of the Fab Four is Williamson at 10 and Kohli at 12...less run than even Jos Buttler.

Of course, averages negate differences in numbers of games played, so using a cut off of at least 5 tests:

Only one of the Fab Four makes it into the top 5, and that is Smith who averages a shade under 64. The next in line is Williamson, averaging 57, ranked at 6th...a single spot above Babar Azam, who has an average of 56 with more runs than Williamson. Root comes in at 8 and Kohli is ranked a whopping 23 places lower at 31.

It seems the Fab Four are not the only batsmen worth talking about any more, Stokes may be ranked as the most useful cricketer and when playing, the pivotal man in England. Batsmen like Labushagne and Babar (second best average in WTC 1) are ready to claim the throne and someone like Kohli is in a serious lean patch...or career decline.

Labu has edged into the top four on the ICC rankings pushing Kohli to #5. Babar is at #7.

I think Kohli would benefit from passing on the captaincy, as he is a bad tactician anyway, and concentrate on his batting in the last quarter of his career.
 
Labu has edged into the top four on the ICC rankings pushing Kohli to #5. Babar is at #7.

I think Kohli would benefit from passing on the captaincy, as he is a bad tactician anyway, and concentrate on his batting in the last quarter of his career.

I don't think captaincy is the issue, although yes, India could benefit from a better captain. However who exactly is better in India right now?

Kohli's batting is a factor of age (probably 2-3 years older than stated) and of course, the natural progression and learning required for any batsman to stay in the groove. He will have to make a fewm ore adjustments to his game, just like Cook had to post 30, just like Tendulkar had to near the end of the 00s and so on.
 
Joe Root, over the last 2 years, has clearly overtaken Virat Kohli as a test batsman.
I always felt Root was under rated due to his lack of hundreds. And he has corrected this so superbely over the past months.
Ad to this Kohli's disaster 3 years in the format. Things have changed rather quickly with Root's average nearing 51 and Kohli not averaging 50 anymore also.

Smith is the clear number one still in the format and Williamson's away record + recent bad form makes him had to be talked about these days.

So as overall batsmanship I will have this order:
1. Smith
2. Root
3. Kohli
4. Williamson

On current form you swap Williamson and Kohli.
 
It is not even a comparison. Root is well ahead of Kohli. Kohli has lived a charm life in Test cricket especially at home while Root had to carry the burden of batting by himself numerous times and he has done it successfully.

Root is in a Ponting tier( failure in one country) while Kohli in tests is more in the Pietersen tier and Williamson is in Yousuf/Hussey tier. Smith is sitting at top in a "Best since Bradman" tier. There is another tier going around these days, which is called as "Not fit enough to tie Williamson's shoes", not sure if Root qualifies to that though :kp
 
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Joe Root, over the last 2 years, has clearly overtaken Virat Kohli as a test batsman.
I always felt Root was under rated due to his lack of hundreds. And he has corrected this so superbely over the past months.
Ad to this Kohli's disaster 3 years in the format. Things have changed rather quickly with Root's average nearing 51 and Kohli not averaging 50 anymore also.

Smith is the clear number one still in the format and Williamson's away record + recent bad form makes him had to be talked about these days.

So as overall batsmanship I will have this order:
1. Smith
2. Root
3. Kohli
4. Williamson

On current form you swap Williamson and Kohli.

Smith hasn't scored a hundred since 2019. In fact you can say New Zealand were the first team to figure him out by strangling him down the leg side and the Indians followed suit. Maybe this is also the result of age, decline in reflexes, he always relied on his hand eye coordination, reflexes which will decline once he reached his mid 30's.
 
On recent form:

Root in test cricket

Babar Azam in white ball cricket
 
It is not even a comparison. Root is well ahead of Kohli. Kohli has lived a charm life in Test cricket especially at home while Root had to carry the burden of batting by himself numerous times and he has done it successfully.

Root is in a Ponting tier( failure in one country) while Kohli in tests is more in the Pietersen tier and Williamson is in Yousuf/Hussey tier. Smith is sitting at top in a "Best since Bradman" tier. There is another tier going around these days, which is called as "Not fit enough to tie Williamson's shoes", not sure if Root qualifies to that though :kp

Stats aren't everything. I can agree with the rest but Kevin Pietersen has nothing to do in that list. He has so many other things that makes him a special player and a better player than other with better stats. The number of impact/outstanding innings he has played, the way he will attack the best bowlers in the world is unmatched in recent years.
 
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