King Kohli reigns supreme

John Erichsen I disagree with all your points apart from your first 3 lines(as it were facts). “Samarweera was a world class player as his test average of 48.77 over 81 tests indicates.” WRONG.Now i understand why you rate root and williamson so high unlike kohli.Why can’t people understand that for a player to be called world class,he has to be extremely special player.once again you are clearly judging him by overall averages.if he was truly world class,then he wouldn’t have been dropped from SL side(which were already struggling in batting department).There are many players who averages less than samarweera but are not only better than him but also World class.For ex-VVS Laxman who averages 46 is not only better than samarweera(avg 48) but also a world class batsman. “Personally, I have no problem with those who rate Sangakkara or Kallis as better than Lara.” I know you are going to disagree but your’e clearly saying this just to prove Root,KW are better than kohli in test.As both lara and kohli case are similiar(btw im not saying kohli is better or even comparable to lara in test).Lara is undoubtedly best test batsman of his generation along with tendulkar(ponting close third).Both sangakara and kallis themselves said lara was best of their generation.Lara played several iconic knocks both home and away unlike sangakara and kallis(especially kallis).Lara performance in Austraia and Sri lanka(against Murali) is enough for me to suggest that he was better than sanga or kallis overseas.Sangakara(who averages 57) himself said he is nowhere near lara(who avgs only 51 which is significantly less than sangakara) “Away test averages of 54.08 and 53.91 respectively leave Lara way behind (47.80).” i’m glad you rate overseas performance.This is the main overseas why i rate kohli(like Lara) ahead of KW,Root. Williamson avgs against top ranked side is much less than kohli both home and away(you can check stats).you said that Kw has played lots of matches overseas but he has also played lots of matches against lower ranked sides unlike kohli and root . KW conversion rate is great but kohli has also been great in that department Root is quality player but on the basis of performance,there is no way you can rate him ahead of Kohli.Root’s biggest failure so far has been his lack of impactful innings despite being equally good against spin and pace.Apart from England and West indies,there is no country where root has done better than kohli.One of the main reason why england test side has been poor in last 2-3 yrs is because there best batsman root has failed to played many impactful innings.for ex-Root despite averaging 49 on good wickets in india he had absolutely no impact in that series.He scored 1 centurey in Rajkot where M ali,Stokes,Cook all scored more runs than him in that test.Don’t be fooled by margins of defeat in last 2 test of that series,England could’ve easily drawn those matches.All it requred was one extremely good inning which Root Failed to do so despite being set.Root had only 1 great series ie Ashes 2015 in his career which was at home.Root has only 3 century overseas whereas kohli 10(including 7 outside SC which is same no of century sangakara scored in his whole career). Root doesn’t have even 1 ICONIC knock overseas whereas kohli has many that too against quality bowling lineup like his Man of the match century in South Africa(check out this link http://bit.ly/2iEnkpW ) and adelaide knock which ian chappell rated as best innings he’s ever seen in 4th innings.He made adelaide 5th day pitch looked like absolute road.Not to forget his two centuries in 3rd or 4th test which helped india to draw those matches in Australia or even 75 runs in perth as 22 yr old.

John Erichsen after reading my previous post do you still believe that Samarweera was world class player? or kallis and sanga were better than lara in test? or Do you still believe that Root deserves to be called 2nd best test batsman in the world(after smith)?

I disagree with all your points apart from your first 3 lines(as it were facts). “Samarweera was a world class player as his test average of 48.77 over 81 tests indicates.” WRONG.Now i understand why you rate root and williamson so high unlike kohli.Why can’t people understand that for a player to be called world class,he has to be extremely special player.once again you are clearly judging him by overall averages.if he was truly world class,then he wouldn’t have been dropped from SL side(which were already struggling in batting department).There are many players who averages less than samarweera but are not only better than him but also World class.For ex-VVS Laxman who averages 46 is not only better than samarweera(avg 48) but also a world class batsman. “Personally, I have no problem with those who rate Sangakkara or Kallis as better than Lara.” I know you are going to disagree but your’e clearly saying this just to prove Root,KW are better than kohli in test.As both lara and kohli case are similiar(btw im not saying kohli is better or even comparable to lara in test).Lara is undoubtedly best test batsman of his generation along with tendulkar(ponting close third).Both sangakara and kallis themselves said lara was best of their generation.Lara played several iconic knocks both home and away unlike sangakara and kallis(especially kallis).Lara performance in Austraia and Sri lanka(against Murali) is enough for me to suggest that he was better than sanga or kallis overseas.Sangakara(who averages 57) himself said he is nowhere near lara(who avgs only 51 which is significantly less than sangakara) “Away test averages of 54.08 and 53.91 respectively leave Lara way behind (47.80).” i’m glad you rate overseas performance.This is the main overseas why i rate kohli(like Lara) ahead of KW,Root. Williamson avgs against top ranked side is much less than kohli both home and away(you can check stats).you said that Kw has played lots of matches overseas but he has also played lots of matches against lower ranked sides unlike kohli and root . KW conversion rate is great but kohli has also been great in that department Root is quality player but on the basis of performance,there is no way you can rate him ahead of Kohli.Root’s biggest failure so far has been his lack of impactful innings despite being equally good against spin and pace.Apart from England and West indies,there is no country where root has done better than kohli.One of the main reason why england test side has been poor in last 2-3 yrs is because there best batsman root has failed to played many impactful innings.for ex-Root despite averaging 49 on good wickets in india he had absolutely no impact in that series.He scored 1 centurey in Rajkot where M ali,Stokes,Cook all scored more runs than him in that test.Don’t be fooled by margins of defeat in last 2 test of that series,England could’ve easily drawn those matches.All it requred was one extremely good inning which Root Failed to do so despite being set.Root had only 1 great series ie Ashes 2015 in his career which was at home.Root has only 3 century overseas whereas kohli 10(including 7 outside SC which is same no of century sangakara scored in his whole career). Root doesn’t have even 1 ICONIC knock overseas whereas kohli has many that too against quality bowling lineup like his Man of the match century in South Africa(check out this link http://bit.ly/2iEnkpW ) and adelaide knock which ian chappell rated as best innings he’s ever seen in 4th innings.He made adelaide 5th day pitch looked like absolute road.Not to forget his two centuries in 3rd or 4th test which helped india to draw those matches in Australia or even 75 runs in perth as 22 yr old.

I think kohli's biggest Strength or Weakness is that he is a confidence player.If he is confident then he is nearly unstoppable but when he's not(like in England or Australia at Home) then he can have a really poor series.In England,main reason for his failure(apart from swing) was that he wasn't confident.He was coming after poor ipl and even in flat nottingham pitch(where only 29 wickets were fallen in whole 5 days) he scored only 1 and 8 runs in those innings.This is where Smith is better than kohli.Even when Smith is not confident he can somehow manage to score runs unlike kohli.

Paul great Points.Smith clearly deserves to be called best batsman in the world right now after that india series where he humiliated kohli. "but it seemed to me the Aussies somehow managed to get under his skin. The really great batsmen rarely show it when they are rattled, but Kohli did and as a consequence, his technique let him down and he failed in the series as a batsman." Completely agree with This point As a captain he still has a lot to prove

Both Root and Williamson have better test averages than Kohli. Both have better away test averages then Kohli. Williamson has also played a higher percentage of away tests than the others, which is why I rate him highly. Root's average is significantly better than Kokli's which is good enough for me over 60 tests. Voges' average means little as less than 2000 test runs lessens credibility. Samarweera was a world class player as his test average of 48.77 over 81 tests indicates. Personally, I have no problem with those who rate Sangakkara or Kallis as better than Lara. Away test averages of 54.08 and 53.91 respectively leave Lara way behind (47.80). Not sure where the alleged hypocrisy lies.

Kohli is going to break all batting records of ODIs and T20Is for sure, but he is lagging behind in Test cricket due to his over-dominance attitude.

"Runs made is the measure, not stylish technique."That is true but slightly hypocritical coming from you.Root and williamson(especially Root) may look technically sound than kohli or more in control with bat in test but that doesn't mean they have done better than kohli in test arena.It's understandable if you are judging them by potential as i also believe root has most potential right now.but i dont think you can prove that They've achieved or performed better than kohli in test so far.I don't think Root deserves to be called Second best batsman in test cricket right now.If you are only judging by overall average than sangakara >Lara(as 57>51 also played in somewhat same era) or Samarweera and adam voges would be called world class players.

Runs made is the measure, not stylish technique. Always has been. Bradman's technique wasn't the most traditionally correct but he went ok. Smith is the best test batsman on the planet with Root and Williamson next. Kohli ranks ahead of Pujara and ABDV is the dark horse returning from injury. Prior to his injury,, he too was ahead of Kohli in test cricket.

Kohli has a remarkable ability to make big scores, only for the team to be behind -- either needing to score too much in the later part of a chase, or below par. Model of consistency, but a bit one paced at times.

My rankings of best test batsmen of this generation -: 1 smith-rarely failed in any series and averages around 60 2 amla - would've been no 1 but in last 2 yrs he's been below average whereas smith has been excellent 3 ab devilliers-:longevity is key here.he is more versatile than players below.he's also played various great innings in drawing situation(ex- 30 of 200 balls) 4 kohli-surprisingly he's achieved more than any player below.he averages 48.84 along with 7 centuries against top ranked side outside SC(vs Sa,Aus,Eng,Nz away) which is great for any SC batsman.In comparison sangakara also scored 7 centuries outside Sc.Need to improve against swing bowling.Overall he averages 51 against sa,Aus,NZ and Eng. 5 Pujara-Without doubt best player in Sc condition.Ashwin,jadeja and herath are great in SC but in batting there is no match for pujara.Played various match winning and saving in his test career.He has to rectify his record outside SC. 6 Root-In terms of adapting to different condition(whether swing or spin),to me he is best batsman in the world.No batsman look more in control than Root. Despite his good average overseas he hasn't made as much impact in his test career as player's above.Need to convert 50s into more meaningful innings..He can easily become best of this generation in test. 7 williamson-His record against top sides overall isn't good as players above.Against top sides he overall averages 41 and 39 overseas.His conversion rate has been great so far.

Unorthodox =/= poor.

Sorry, didn't realise having a nice looking technique was the point of batting. Had always thought it was making runs. Silly me.

Fair question John. I think Smith, Root, Williamson and Kohli are the best in the world at present, based on current form. De Villiers would be there as well, but for his time out of the game, ( when he was at the top of his game 2 years ago, he was the best in the world I thought and great to watch when he was going). Pujara and Amla are quality batsmen, no argument, but I feel Amla's passed his prime and Pujara seems to be a bit inconsistent. Both can still score a lot of runs, but I'm not sure they're quite as good as the other 4. I'm not trying to shy away from your question but I think the next 6 months will better place these guys because India plays South Africa so 4 of the guys you named will be on show, and obviously we have the Ashes. Williamson can stakes his claims in India, then home Test series and triangular one day series with Australia and England. If pushed my top 4 would be Smith Root Williamson Kohli de Villiers though could top the bill in 6 months time if his recent batting is any indication.

Root followed by Kohli and then Williamson are the technically most sound batsmen. Smith can not enter the conversation as his technique is poor. Not sure who else there is.

All formats? Smith, Root, Pujara, Williamson, De Villiers and Amla all have higher test averages. Which of these do you rate below Kohli as a test batsman? Smith is well ahead of the others so rule him out. Root's average is great but his century conversion rate is down and 10 of his 13 tons have been scored at home although his away average is good at 48.60. Pujara is similar with 9 home tons out of 13 and he only averages 38 outside India so there's something in that. Williamson is all quality at home and away, conversion rate and with 10 of 17 tons scored on foreign soil. ABdV averages 55 away from home but his conversion rate isn't as good as most on this list. Amla ticks away centuries, conversion rate and averages 48 away from home, but his average of 49.87 doesn't match the others. Please don't take this response as a dig. I am interested in your thoughts as to how you would order the top seven batsmen still playing. Warner is next on the test average list of current players so I think Kohli is safe there, as Warner's away performance is a well known mark against him.

Sorry David, but there is plenty of doubt about that, for those who view test cricket as the flagship format.

Kohli as a batsman is clearly in the top 3 or 4 in the world in all formats of the game, but he had issues against Australia earlier this year. He is obviously an aggressive sort of character and won't take a backward step, but it seemed to me the Aussies somehow managed to get under his skin. The really great batsmen rarely show it when they are rattled, but Kohli did and as a consequence, his technique let him down and he failed in the series as a batsman. Kohli is also fortunate that India is going through a golden period in their cricket, where they have talent in all positions. This makes his role as both skipper and batsman that much easier than if he was say, in Steve Smith's position, trying to manage a developing team. I think he needs to win a tournament or series of note before he can add the captaincy to his list of achievements. The Champions Trophy final was a humiliating defeat and Kohli seemed completely at a loss to first of all, stop Pakistan from scoring, then helping his side by making a lot of runs himself. He has a chance to prove himself when India tour South Africa soon and the World Cup is not far away.

In ODIs and T20s? Absolutely. If you're speaking more generally then Kohli will need to address his weakness against the moving ball in the longer format. He has the talent to do that but regularly gets himself out by playing too aggressively, as he did in England and more recently in the home series vs Australia. It's an issue that Smith and Root have managed to rectify in their own games and I'm sure Kohli can too.

Without a doubt the second best batsman of this generation.