Virat, most visible of a sparkling batting quartet
In the ‘Fab 4’ debate, numbers put Root, Smith and Williamson ahead but Kohli stands out for showing India an aggressive route to success
New Delhi: The retirement of Virat Kohli removes from Test cricket the biggest character from among the four batting stalwarts who have stamped their class over the last decade and a half. Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson have been the batting anchor of their national team as well as provided them with a distinct identity.
If the 1980s saw Test cricket celebrate great allrounders – Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee and Imran Khan – the last two decades with cramped schedules that have taken a physical toll on the speed merchants have truly belonged to these great batters. That elite club will now be reduced to three.
A career average of 50 plus is considered the hallmark of an all-time great Test batter, and the milestone 10,000 runs held up as signifying longevity and true class. Kohli’s late career tapering off has meant he finishes with 9,230 runs at 46.85 – his three contemporaries tick the averages box with Root and Smith having achieved the big milestone for runs too. Williamson, on 9,276 runs, could also reach there.
While big numbers have a great ring to Test accomplishments, Kohli’s distinction lies in his combativeness that has lifted Indian cricket. The manner in which he banished a poor England series of 2014 with twin centuries in the first Test at Adelaide that winter, countering the Aussie attack on a wearing pitch with a second century in the game that almost saw India pull off a sensational chase. India lost the Test as batting support at the other end fell away, but Kohli’s had given wings to his players for adopting a fearless approach.
But in that relentless approach of Kohli were the seeds for India’s back-to-back Test series wins in Australia that followed (2018-19 and 2020-21) sowed. The man whose cricketing exploits Kohli was expected to match, Sachin Tendulkar, had produced a gritty century braving back spasms in the 1999 Chennai Test against Pakistan. The game was lost, but India pulled off a great win in the next in Delhi with Anil Kumble’s historic 10-wicket innings haul to level the series.
A batting comparison of the quartet puts England’s Root clearly ahead, in terms of numbers and a delightful Test batting rhythm that has stood out, barring those rare switch hits, even in the current ultra-aggressive approach advocated by coach Brendon McCullum. Root though has not scored a century in Australia.
Australia have been grateful for the insurance Smith still provides in the middle-order while Williamson’s calmness has rubbed off on the other players in the New Zealand side.
Wearing the leading-batter-as-skipper cap though, Kohli leads the way. He achieved an Indian record of 40 wins in 68 Tests as captain, pushing players, and with coach Ravi Shastri, helping build a potent fast bowling attack. That included taking a huge punt on white-ball pacer Jasprit Bumrah on the 2018 SA tour.
However, being the team’s batting lynchpin didn’t make them immune to the tumult captains often face after a long sting. Kohli abruptly quit in January 2022 after the South Africa tour where India had lost the series 2-1. Root won an England record 23 Tests as skipper but ended a five-year term in April 2022 after a long winless run of the team led to increased criticism. Smith was axed from the job with a one-year ban following a ball-tampering scandal on the 2018 South Africa tour.
