Category: Cricket Legends

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

Player	Team	Matches	Runs	100s	Highest Score
Virat Kohli	India	541	27,260	81	254*
Joe Root	England	355	20,333	52	262
Kane Williamson	New Zealand	363	18,661	46	251
Steven Smith	Australia	344	16,561	45	239

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

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Highest Score	Average	100s	50s
Virat Kohli	120	205	9163	254	47.72	30	31
Kane Williamson	104	184	9076	251	54.34	32	37
Joe Root	151	276	12886	262	50.93	36	64
Steven Smith	111	198	9704	239	53.40	32	41

ODI Stats

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Highest Score	Average	100s	50s
Virat Kohli	295	283	13906	183	58.18	50	72
Kane Williamson	165	157	6811	148	48.30	13	45
Joe Root	171	160	6522	133	47.61	16	39
Steven Smith	165	149	5662	164	43.62	12	34

T20I Stats

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Highest Score	Average	100s	50s
Virat Kohli	125	117	4188	122	48.70	1	38
Kane Williamson	93	90	2575	95	33.01	0	18
Joe Root	32	30	893	90	35.72	0	5
Steven Smith	67	55	1094	90	24.86	0	5

IPL Stats

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Highest Score	Average	100s	50s
Virat Kohli	252	244	8004	113	38.67	8	55
Kane Williamson	79	77	2128	89	35.47	0	18
Joe Root	3	1	10	10	10.00	0	0
Steven Smith	103	93	2485	101	34.51	1	11

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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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Mohammad Kaif is a renowned former Indian cricketer, commentator and coach. When it comes to the best fielder Indian cricket has seen, Mohd Kaif is one of the first names on the list.

Birth Date	1 December 1980
City	Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
Siblings	M Saif (Brother)
Father	M Tarif
Teams Played For	India, California Knights, Gloucestershire, India Maharajas, Kings XI Punjab, Leicestershire, Manipal Tigers, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Uttar Pradesh

Early Life

Mohammad Kaif hails from Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh. He was born to M Tarif, a professional cricketer who played for Uttar Pradesh and Railways. Like Kaif, his brother Mohammad Saif is a professional cricketer who has played for the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh cricket teams. Coming from a family with a cricket background, Kaif was drawn to the sport at an early age.

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Cricket Career

Mohammad Kaif was a great talent and was always touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket. He got his first break early, in the U-19 Cricket World Cup in 2000. He led India Colts to a World Cup win in the tournament and was fast-tracked into the national team.

Kaif got his Test debut cap in March 2000 against South Africa and debuted in ODI cricket in January 2002. Kaif represented India in 13 Tests and 125 ODIs in his successful India career.

Kaif featured in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The highlight of his cricketing career was a record partnership alongside Yuvraj Singh in the 2002 NatWest Trophy tri-series final against England as he helped India chase down a mammoth 326 with 87* (off 75 balls).

Cricket Career Stats

Format	Matches	Runs	Highest Score	Average	100s	50s
Tests	13	624	148*	32.84	1	3
ODIs	125	2753	111*	32.01	2	17

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Personal Life

Mohammad Kaif is married to Pooja Yadav, a journalist by profession. They met in 2007 at a party through mutual friends. After a relationship of 4 years, they tied the knot in 2011 in a private ceremony. The couple has two children.

Coaching

Mohammad Kaif has been seen taking up several coaching roles in recent years. A natural thinker and leader, he has helped IPL teams like Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) in a coaching role.

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Commentary

Commentary is another role that keeps Mohammad Kaif involved deeply in the sport. He has been entertaining cricket fans with insightful commentary stints during International and domestic matches.

Politics

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif forayed into politics for a brief period. In 2014, the cricketer contested in the Lok Sabha polls from Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh, on a Congress ticket but was unsuccessful.

Mohammad Kaif remains one of the most celebrated figures in the Indian cricket fraternity and an admired athlete in India.

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