'Virat Is Probably The Most Complete Player Out Of The Three (Virat, Kane, Smith) Of Them Across Formats' - Joe Root

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England Test captain Joe Root has admitted that he wasn't sure about putting himself in the elite modern-day cricket's "fab four" club with Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith. Instead, he accepted he could learn from all three of them.

While Root is sometimes referred to as one of the "big four" batsmen in contemporary international cricket, he believes that Virat Kohli is "probably the most complete batsman" out of the three (Virat, Smith, Kane) of them across formats.



"I try not to measure myself against other players," Root said to ESPNcricinfo. "But I do watch a lot of how they go about constructing different types of innings across the three formats. You're looking at three of the greatest players the game has seen. They're three brilliant people to watch play and learn from. I'm not sure I'd put myself in their bracket, to be honest".

"I look at how late Kane plays the ball, how still and correct he is. How, under pressure, he finds a way to trust his defense on any given surface. That's a great quality to have", he said.

"You look at Smith and at times he's just awful to watch. It's horrible on the eye. But you'd pay to have him in your team. He's a fantastic run-scorer. The way he thinks about the game and manages passages of play is exceptional. He makes bowlers bowl where he wants them to and his self-confidence you can see by the way he leaves the ball and some of his idiosyncrasies. He's always trying to find a way to get on top of the opposition. His hunger for big, big scores is fantastic", he added.



England's red-ball skipper hails Virat Kohli who boasts an extraordinary record in all three formats, averaging 54 in Tests, 59 in ODIs, and 51 in T20Is. There are Smith and Williamson as modern-day great but Root rates the Indian skipper as the best of the lot.

"Virat is probably the most complete player out of the three of them across formats. His ability to chase things down in the limited-overs format and to pace it as well as he does as often as he does and be not out at the end is extraordinary. He's got a very good all-round game but you wouldn't say he's weaker against spin or pace.

"He obviously struggled on his first tour to England, but he scored really heavily when he came back. And similarly, elsewhere in the world, he's put in massive performances. All that with the weight of India on his shoulders, as well", the 29-year old added.

Joe Root's numbers, on the other hand, are impressive in the Test and ODI formats, averaging 48 and 50 respectively, but he has always been criticized for his lack of ability to convert the fifties into hundreds. He has crossed 50+ scores on 66 occasions but could only convert them into 100 only on 17 times which is far less as compared to Virat, Smith, and Kane.

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