As the debate over Test cricket's famed 'Top 4' intensifies with the legendary quartet entering into the final phases of their respective careers, Ravichandran Ashwin opined on the debate and named the top two among them. Ashwin is a modern-day great of Test cricket as the ninth highest- wicket taker in the history of the longest format as well as the second among active players only.
Snubbing Steve Smith and Kane Williamson; Ashwin called former England and Indian captains Joe Root and Virat Kohli the two best but stated he will not rank those two. The legendary Indian spinner further backed both Smith and Williamson to hit another purple patch.
"If I pick two from the top four, without any rankings, Joe Root and Virat Kohli are right up there at the top. Kane Williamson and Steve Smith might have been slightly behind. Williamson has been blocked by injuries. We shouldn't forget that.
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"If batters have a lot of tennis elbow issues, it is very difficult Steve Smith found that mid-area when he wanted to play all formats. He has gone through a little bit of a dip but these are high-quality players. Again, I wouldn't be surprised if those guys came back and hit another purple patch," said Ashwin in a video on his Youtube channel.
For those unversed, the 'Fab 4' term was bestowed by legendary New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe on Root, Kohli, Smith, and Williamson in 2014, when each of them was in the early stages of their career. All four of them proved Crowe corrected and turned out to be the four best batters of the generation in Test cricket and captained their national teams for a long period.
Root, Kohli, Smith, and Williamson have the most Test runs among active batters as well as the most centuries in the longest format.