Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket as 3rd best ‘Fab 4’ batter ...Middle East

Virat Kohli is probably the best all-format batter to ever grace the sport. One can make a case for him as the greatest ODI batter, especially after he took over Sachin Tendulkar’s centuries tally. He’s about there in T20Is too. Kohli has the most half-centuries, the second most runs, and two ‘Player of the Tournament’ awards in T20 World Cups in the shortest format of the game. But he isn’t even close to that conversation in Test cricket.

He might be India’s best Test batter since 2013, but he certainly isn’t even close to the best in his generation. 1/4 of the Fab 4, Kohli wasn’t far off being the best in Tests for a few years. However, Steve Smith, his counterpart from Australia, for the most part, was better. During his peak years (2014-19), the Indian great conquered it all. Who better remained a contentious topic. Some chose Kohli as the best, while others picked Smith.

But why am I rambling about Kohli? Why the talks about him and Fab 4 now? That’s because the former India captain has retired from the format. The late and great Martin Crowe coined the term ‘Fab 4’ in 2014. He wrote about the four best Test batters in the world at that moment and shared why he felt they were going to occupy the No. 1 spot in red-ball cricket in the coming year. 11 years later, one of them has retired. And that’s exactly the reason why I’m writing this.

Fab 4’s overall Test record

Prowess away from home

Kohli is the only member of the Fab 4 who averages under 50. But overall averages don’t really show the real picture. Williamson, despite averaging higher than Kohli and Root, isn’t a better batter. This opinion isn’t just backed by the ex-cricketer but by their records as well.

To show who’s the best, the metric that everyone brings in is the record in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia). However, this metric works best for Asian batters. To level the playing field, we’ve changed the metric for each player.

This clearly shows that Smith is miles ahead of his contemporaries. The former Australian skipper has almost the same number of runs as Root despite playing 15 fewer innings. He’s got the most hundreds and the highest average as well. This also shows how, despite being compared to Kohli, Root, and Smith, Williamson isn’t exactly in their league. In the toughest of conditions and against the best opposition, the Kiwi doesn’t rise up to the occasion like all the others do. Since the headline is Kohli-specific, let’s talk about him.

Not much separates Kohli and Root here. The Indian has 5 more hundreds, but the Englishman has him covered with 12 more half-centuries. Not converting his fifties into hundreds was something that Root got flak for, and this shows how many more hundreds he could have ended with if he’d converted these good starts into big ones.

Kohli averages 11 more than Root in Australia, and Root has Kohli covered in New Zealand (50 to 36). They are even in South Africa. Going by this metric, Root and Kohli are fairly close. But the Englishman does have a better average. They might be tied for the 2nd spot here.

Late career decline

Many pick Brian Lara over Sachin Tendulkar as the greatest Test batter since Don Bradman. 1 run difference in average separates them. But Tendulkar played 69 more matches than him. Longevity. That is what makes The Little Master the best. To be the best for a month or year may be easy, but to do it for a decade—that’s the challenge.

Smith and Williamson made their debuts in 2010, Kohli in 2011 and Root in 2012. For the next decade, they were in their prime. At the end of 2019, they were aged 31 (Kohli), 30 (Smith) and 29 (Root and Williamson). They were closer to the end of their best period. At this point, Kohli averaged 54.8 after 141 innings. Smith was the only one who was better than him (62.8); in fact, Root had an average of under 50 (48.4).

Fab 4’s record from 2020

From January 1, 2020 to May 12, 2025: the picture has completely changed. Barring Root (48 to 50), everyone has dipped. Smith’s average has plummeted from nearly 63 to 56, and Kohli’s gone from 55 to 46.

Williamson may have a 67.37 average during this period, but most of his runs have come at home. 27 of his 48 innings have come against India, England and Australia. In these, he averages 37.07 with 2 fifties and 2 hundreds. Why am I excluding South Africa? Because they sent an F side to New Zealand and named someone their captain who hadn’t made his debut yet.

Kohli’s biggest issue during this period has been his decline against spin. From 2020 onwards, India produced spin-friendly pitches more often. This meant that Kohli didn’t find it easy to find his mojo during his slump (1021 days without a hundred).

He could defend, but on big turners, you need to put the pressure back on the bowler, which Kohli failed to do as his attacking armoury seemed to have evaded him with increasing age. Most Indian batters suffered, but none like Kohli. His career average against spin is 54.84, but since 2020, it has been 31.28.

But that wasn’t his only issue. Everyone remembers Kohli’s issue with balls pitched outside off in England. Well, it returned in the later half of his career. In the last Test series he played, he got out in the same manner: edging to balls outside off. He’d entered Australia with a 54.08 average and left with 46.72. And Australia was his second-best place to bat before; well, it wasn’t anymore after the tour.

It’s safe to say Kohli has been the worst Fab 4 batter of this decade. And basically takes him out of the best of his generation race. But his performance in the peak still keeps him above Williamson. Remember, there are no bad or even good batters there. These are all-time greats. Some of the greatest to ever play for their nations and Test cricket in general.

Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket as 3rd best ‘Fab 4’ batter Inside Sport India.

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket as 3rd best ‘Fab 4’ batter )

Also on site :

• Young Star Lamine Yamal Provokes Real Madrid After El Clasico Win
• 2025 La Liga: FC Barcelona 4-3 Real Madrid
• IPL 2025 Revised Schedule Team-wise