Ricky Ponting Excludes Virat Kohli from Fab Four Debate as Steve Smith Reaches 10,000 Test Runs
Former Australian captain praises Steve Smith, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson as modern-day Test greats, reigniting the debate over the best Test batter of this generation.
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Asela MadhusankaEditor
Posted - 2025-01-30T15:21:31+06:00
Updated - 2025-01-30T15:21:31+06:00
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has reignited a long-standing debate over who is the best Test batter of this generation following Steve Smith's latest milestone of completing 10,000 Test runs. Ponting named Steve Smith, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson as the top contenders but notably excluded Virat Kohli from the conversation.
Ricky-Ponting-Virat-Kohli-Steve-Smith
Smith’s achievement of becoming the 15th player in history to cross the 10,000-run mark in Test cricket, and the fourth Australian to do so, has further solidified his place among the modern greats.
Ponting, speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, stated:
"Is he the best player of his generation? It's hard to argue against it. Joe Root is the other one now, and [Kane] Williamson's record is outstanding as well. Joe's last couple of years have elevated him right back up there, I think."
The former Australian captain highlighted Root's remarkable rise in recent years, mentioning that Root's 19 centuries in the past four years have brought him back into the race. While Kohli was once the leader of the "Fab Four" with 27 Test centuries until 2020, his recent dip in form has seen him fall behind the other three.
Ponting added,
"Five or six years ago, when this big four emerged, with [Virat] Kohli being one of those as well, Joe was probably down near the bottom part of that because he hadn't made the hundreds the other guys had made, but he's made 19 hundreds in the past four years."
Ponting further emphasized that depending on which country you ask, the answers might differ:
"If you asked an Englishman they'd say Joe Root, if you asked an Aussie they'd say Steve Smith, and if you asked a Kiwi they'd say Kane Williamson. So it's a tough one, but on the numbers themselves it's pretty hard to argue against what he's done."