Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that Virat Kohli has slid out of the ‘Fab 4’ due to his poor Test record in recent years. Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson comprise the Fab 4, a group of four of the finest Test batters of the modern era. These fabulous batters were in their peak form during 2014-19. While Williamson, Smith, and Root remain among the top five Test batters, Kohli is currently ranked 14th.
Kohli, who had been scoring runs and hitting centuries for fun across formats, suffered a major slump in form for nearly three years. The right-handed batter, however, has rediscovered his rhythm but is still not at his at its best. Kohli’s last century was against Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy but failed to help India win the World Test Championship 2023 final.
On the other hand, Root and Smith are still continuing their excellent form. The former England captain averaged 54.8 in Tests from 2020-2023, while the former Australian captain averaged 49.9 over the same period. Both have scored a century each in the ongoing Ashes series. Meanwhile, the former New Zealand Test skipper has been out of play for four months due to injury, but he is the current World No. 1 Test batter.
“Kane and Joe Root, no question about it. Steve Smith, averaging 50 with six hundred, no question about him. But David Warner and Virat Kohli, at this point of time, they are not a part of Fab 4. There’s no Fab 4 right now, there’s Fab 3,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
I don’t think he is part of Fab 4 at the moment: Chopra on Babar Azam
Meanwhile, there were debates on whether Babar Azam should be included in the ‘Fab 4’ list given his recent performances. However, Copra feels that he hasn’t reached the level yet, and he’s only talking about red-ball cricket.
“You might think of adding Babar Azam’s name in there. But while there’s no doubt that he has scored runs in Test cricket, I don’t think he is part of Fab 4 at the moment. I’m only talking about Test matches here,” the 45-year-old said.
“Joe Root, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith are there, but Virat Kohli has slipped out of that list, and so has Warner. Kohli might actually come back but I’m not sure about Warner. The latter’s Test career, I think, is coming to an end,” he added.
