Former Indian cricketer remakes fab four, includes Babar Azam

India’s former cricketer Aakash Chopra, in a Youtube video on Saturday, suggested a new list of fab four batsmen, keeping in mind the performances across all three formats of the game, while including Pakistan’s prolific batsman Babar Azam.

The 42-year-old claimed that Babar stood shoulder-to-shoulder with India’s batting maestro Virat Kohli in terms of performances and could no longer be ignored in the fab four list.

“I would keep Pakistan’s Babar Azam in the fab four. He stands shoulder to shoulder with India’s Virat Kohli. He is the number one batsman in T20Is, number-three in ODIs and number five in Test cricket. If you are in the top five in all three formats than how can you not be in the fab four of world cricket? He should be included in the fab four a 120 per cent,” said Chopra.

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The former cricketer believed that a remake was required to the fab four list keeping in mind the performances of the batsmen across all formats.

“When we talk about the fab four of the world we talk about Australia’s Steve Smith, England’s Joe Root, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and India’s Virat Kohli. Everyone around the globe believes that these are the most talented batsmen in the world. That is why they are the current fab four of international cricket. But is this right?” he said. “In Test cricket you could maybe agree but there are challengers as well. But why don’t we look across three formats? I think if we look across all three formats a new fab four can be made.”

He added India’s Virat Kohli and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson because of their extraordinary skills and consistency across all formats.

“You would have to start the new fab four with India’s Virat Kohli because he is the number one batsman in two formats. He is number one in ODIs and Tests which makes him a shoe-in for the fab four. He is in the top ten in T20I cricket as well but is in the bottom half,” he said. “You would have to keep New Zealand’s Kane Williamson in the fab four because of his consistency. He does great in ODIs and is formidable in Tests. You can’t even say that he is not good at T20Is either. He is a fairly good player.”

The former cricketer was conflicted between Australia’s David Warner and India’s Rohit Sharma but chose the latter because of his rising statistics.

“I thought about Australia’s David Warner but he struggles in some Test matches so he doesn’t make the cut. Lastly I would go with Rohit Sharma. He is great in ODIs and is on the rise in T20Is and Test cricket,” he concluded.