Aakash Chopra omits Steve Smith and Joe Root from his ‘Fab Four’

Aakash Chopra omits Steve Smith and Joe Root: The former Indian opening batsman has made a couple of intriguing changes to his ‘Fab Four’.

Former India opening batsman Aakash Chopra believes one has to start his ‘Fab Four’ with India captain Virat Kohli for he is the No. 1 batsman in two formats. Other than Kohli, Chopra also batted for New Zealand captain Kane Williamson’s inclusion into his list.

“You would have to start the new fab four with India’s Virat Kohli because he is the number one batsman in two formats. He is in the top ten in T20I cricket as well but is in the bottom half.

“Have to keep New Zealand’s Kane Williamson in the fab four because of his consistency. He does great in ODIs and is formidable in Tests,” Chopra was quoted as saying by cricket.pakistan.com.pk.

Aakash Chopra omits Steve Smith and Joe Root from his ‘Fab Four’

While there is no set criteria to decide one’s ‘Fab Four’, it is mostly dependent on perception of an individual. For a long time, a large majority of cricket fans considered Kohli, Williamson, Australia batsman Steve Smith and England Test captain Joe Root as their Top Four batsmen of the contemporary generation.

Chopra, however, has put forward an intriguing and contrasting opinion. Root, who hardly plays T20Is these days and is short of greatness in ODIs, doesn’t find a place in Chopra’s Fab Four.

Smith might easily be among the best in Test matches, his limited-overs record doesn’t speak as highly of him as his counterparts. Keeping all formats in mind, Chopra has included Pakistan limited-overs captain Babar Azam and India limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma in his list.

“I would keep Pakistan’s Babar Azam in the fab four. He stands shoulder to shoulder with India’s Virat Kohli. He is the number one batsman in T20Is, number-three in ODIs and number five in Test cricket.

“If you are in the top five in all three formats then how can you not be in the fab four of world cricket? He should be included in the fab four a 120 per cent,” Chopra added.

Chopra cited Sharma’s stellar limited-overs numbers as the reason behind including him over Australia opening batsman David Warner.