The debate on the modern-day Fab Four – Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson – is something that has gone on for a long time. In comparison, Joe Root was the batsman who had averaged the least.
However, the England skipper silenced his critics by scoring three consecutive centuries in his first 3 Tests of 2021. He is now the only batsman, among his contemporaries, to score 8000 (8467) Test runs.
Root’s average, once again, has gone past the 50-run mark, reigniting the debate about the stature of the four greatest batsmen of the modern era. In the same light, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has come up with a unique but sensible take on the same.
Gambhir feels that both Root and Williamson play in possibly the toughest condition in Tests. He highlighted the fact that England and New Zealand are not easy places to score runs. He also added that pitches in the sub-continent, as well as Australia, tend to get flat.
“You have to realize one thing that someone like Kane Williamson and Joe Root probably play in the toughest of conditions. England is not the easy place to play, with the Duke ball and in English conditions.
“And, New Zealand equally is not that easy to play when the ball is swinging and seaming. You look at sub-continent conditions, you look at Australian conditions, they tend to go flat. But England never goes flat,” Gambhir told ESPNCricinfo.
ALSO READ: Catch those: Mark Butcher slams Ashwin for dropping Stokes
Gambhir further stated that Root and Williamson should not be compared to the other two batsmen only because of the conditions. He also lauded Root for boasting “unbelievable” numbers in the sub-continent.
“You cannot compare Virat Kohli and Steve Smith to Joe Root or Kane Williamson because of the conditions. But then, look what he (Root) has done in the sub-continent. Imagine if Virat Kohli would have gone to England and New Zealand and got these kinds of runs.
“It is unbelievable, especially on these turning tracks. He has 600 runs in three Test matches, that too in the subcontinent, where the ball starts spinning from day one. We should not forget what he has done in Sri Lanka,” Gambhir signed-off.