File photo of Virat Kohli© AFP
The modern era of cricket has been mainly dominated by four star batters – Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson. The four batters, also called ‘The Fab Four’, have cemented their legacy with sensational performances but debates still continue over who is the best among them. Experts and fans remain split over who can be considered to be the best among the ‘Top Four’ and legendary Australian women’s cricket team star Alyssa Healy weighed in on the topic. In a recent interaction, Healy placed Virat at the bottom of the ‘Fab Four’ but said that her decision came from an ‘analytical’ approach.
“They’re all very great. But if I’m purely basing it on number, I’m going to put Kohli as fourth. But I actually rate him as No. 1 in everything else. But if you’re basing it on number, Kohli is going to sit fourth for me. I’m looking at it analytically. I think about how much cricket he plays and that’s where I look at his stats. And they are remarkable based on the sheer amount of cricket he plays and the pressure he is under. But if I look at it analytically, he is going to sit fourth,” Healy said on the ‘LiSTNR Sport’ podcast.
Healy, who has won the T20 World Cup six times and ODI World Cup twice in her illustrious career, placed Joe Root in third place, Steve Smith in second and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson claimed the top spot in her list.
She explained that while other batters had ample support from other teammates, Williamson has been dominant on his own and plays a huge role in his team’s future.
“Williamson has carried the whole New Zealand team, whereas for Virat, he is the greatest player in the world, let’s be real. But with him, it’s like someone else is always there. Rohit Sharma can score hundreds. KL Rahul can score a 100. Even [Ravindra] Jadeja can score a 100 at No. 8. He has always got someone else, but I feel that if Williamson doesn’t make those runs, New Zealand don’t get anywhere near winning,” she explained.
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