'There's no Fab-4 right now. It's Fab-3': Ex-India opener expels Virat Kohli, makes staggering 'Babar Azam' claim

The former India opener made a massive claim on Virat Kohli and Babar Azam as he talked about the ‘Fab-4’ in Test cricket.

Joe Root and Steve Smith have been headlining the list of top run-getters in the longest format of the game over the past few years. While the former England captain has averaged 54.8 in Tests between 2020-2023, Smith has scored at almost 50 (49.9) in the same time period. Both are also battling for supremacy in the ongoing Ashes series, where Australia are currently leading the five-Test series 2-0.

Virat Kohli (L) has endured poor performances over the past 3 years in Test cricket, with only 1 century to his name in the format (File)

Smith and Root are justifiably the part of cricket's ‘Fab 4’ – a name given to the group of top-batters in the current generation; the other two being Kane Williamson of New Zealand and former India captain Virat Kohli. The ‘Fab 4’ was at its absolute peak in 2014-19 with all four in top form. However, since international cricket action returned after Covid-19 pandemic, Kohli endured a significant drop in form.

Since 2020, Kohli has scored only one century in Tests, while averaging merely 26.7. And former India opener Aakash Chopra believes that Kohli, as a result of his poor run in Test cricket over the past years, has fallen out of the Fab 4.

“Kane and Joe Root, no question about it. Steve Smith, averaging 50 with six hundreds, 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 official YouTube channel.

While Williamson has played relatively lesser Test matches than other members of the Fab 4 (16) in the 2020-23 period, he averages a stellar 72, scoring 1745 runs with seven centuries to his name. Chopra further stated that one might consider adding Pakistan captain Babar Azam's name to the list but according to the former India star, Babar hasn't reached the level yet.

"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.

“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,” said Chopra.