Cricket is one of the most loved sports around the world. In the 21st century, a quartet of batsmen has risen above the rest and entertained fans with their spectacular show of batsmanship.

This quartet is referred to as the “Fab Four”—Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root. Martin Crowe first used the “Fab Four” reference in 2014 to recognize these players’ potential to dominate world cricket in the foreseeable future and become sports legends. And yes, they have lived up to the tag and have been the leading batters in world cricket for over a decade now. Let’s start with a breakdown of Fab Four Stats across formats.

Most International centuries by Fab 4 batsmen

Virat Kohli, the run machine of cricket and arguably the biggest Indian Sports hero, leads the pack when it comes to most centuries among all fab four batsmen with 81 centuries. 

In ODIs, Virat Kohli stands way above everyone else with 50 hundred, the most by any batsman in the 50-over format. In T20Is, Virat Kohli has one hundred to his name, while no other batsman in the Fab Four has a hundred in 20-over cricket.

In Test cricket, it is England’s Joe Root who has the most centuries among fab four batters, with 36 hundreds under his belt. 

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Test Stats

ODI Stats

T20I Stats

IPL Stats

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Let’s now look at some of the career highlights, records and achievements of all these four batters.

Virat Kohli Records

1. 6th Most Matches as Captain (68) in Test matches
2. Hundred in Each Innings of a Test match
3. 5th Fastest to 7000 Runs in Test Cricket (138 innings)
4. 2nd Most Player-of-the-series Awards (11 times)
5. Most runs in a series (765) in One-Day Internationals
6. 3rd Highest career batting average  (58.18) in ODI
7. Most hundreds against one team (10 centuries against Sri Lanka) in ODIs 
8. 2nd Most Fifties in ODI career (122)
9. 4th Most fours in career (1302) in ODIs
10. Fastest to 13000 runs in ODI (267 innings)
11. Most player-of-the-series awards (7) in T20I
12. 3rd Most Runs in T20I career (4188)
13. 2nd Highest T20I career batting average (48.69)
14. Most fifties in T20I career (39)
15. 4th Most Fours in T20I Career (369)
16. Fastest to 3500 runs (96 innings) in T20I 
17. Most Player-of-the-series Awards (21) across formats
18. 3rd Most Runs in a Calendar Year (2818) across formats 
19. 2nd Most Hundreds in a Calendar Year (11) across formats
20. 2nd Most Fifties in Career (222) across formats
21. 4th Most fours in career (2693) across formats

Steve Smith Records

1. Hundred in each innings of a Test match
2. Carrying bat through a Completed Innings (91*) in a Test match
3. Fastest to 8000 Test runs (151 innings)
4. Most catches in an innings of Test Match by a fielder (5)
5. 3rd Highest Partnership for the Third Wicket (242)
6. 4th Most Hundreds in consecutive matches (4 centuries) across formats
7. 3rd Most Fifties in consecutive innings (7 50s) across formats

Joe Root Records

1. 7th Most matches as captain (64 matches) in Test cricket
2. 3rd Most Runs in a calendar year (1708) in Test cricket
3. Most Fifties in Consecutive Matches (12 occasions) in Test cricket
4. 6th Fastest to 12000 runs (261) in Test cricket
5. 2nd Most catches in Test career by a fielder (207)
6. Highest partnership for the tenth wicket (198) in Test cricket
7. 5th Fastest to 4000 runs (91 innings) in ODI
8. 5th Most Fifties in consecutive matches (8) across formats

Kane Williamson Records

1. Hundred on Test debut (131 runs)
2. Hundred in each innings of a Test match
3. 2nd Highest partnership for the sixth wicket (365*) in Test cricket
4. 4th Most runs in an series by a captain (578) in ODI cricket
5. 2nd Most nineties in ODI career (9 occasions)
6. 3rd Most Fifties in consecutive ODI innings (6)
7. 3rd Fastest to 6000 runs (139 innings) in ODI cricket
8. 3rd Most Matches as Captain (75) in T20I cricket
9. 4th Highest percentage of runs in a completed innings (70%) in T20I
10. 5th Most runs in a calendar year (2692) across formats
11. 3rd Fifties in consecutive innings (7 occasions) across formats

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Who is the best batsman among Fab Four?

Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, and Joe Root each have a distinct style of batting. Virat Kohli’s aggressive style and incredible consistency across formats for over a decade make him stand apart. Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root have been prolific run-getters in Test cricket. Since there are three formats of the game, we need to take into account the adaptability of players and how they’ve fared in each format.

Looking at the overall stats, Virat Kohli is head and shoulders above the rest at the moment. However, it doesn’t undermine the achievements and impact the rest have had on their teams or world cricket over the years. All are cricket legends who continue to inspire millions to take up the sport.

(Stats and records as of 15 December 2024)

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