‘Fab Four’ well it’s more like fab no more these days

‘Fab Four’ well it’s more like fab no more these days. Don’t get me wrong Joe Root has revitalised form in recent years and has been on top of the game. Steve Smith still has those glimpses in his innings, that prove why he belongs amongst the elites.

However, not the same can be said about the other two members of the renowned group, Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli. Both the players have been poster boys for their nations after the departure of their predecessors, i.e Brendon McCullum and Sachin Tendulkar.

The term ‘Fab Four’ was collectively coined to describe these four batters who were deemed as once-in-a-generation talents by fans and critics, but it feels like Root has arguably got ahead in the race when it comes to his fellow rivals. Smith still shows the hunger to stand neck-to-neck but it feels like a steep climb for the rest.

If you haven’t watched the Joe Root masterclass in the fourth innings chase against India, you’re undoubtedly living under a rock. Arguably Root’s best innings of his career came in the last game at Edgbaston where he thrashed the Indian bowlers. 

It felt like a one-sided carnage from a viewer’s point of view as the Indian bowlers looked helpless in face of an overpowered adversary. Paddle scoops, reverse sweeps, Root had just every weapon in his armoury to make a mockery of the visitors.

Not to be outdone by his arch-rival Steve Smith proved why he’s still amongst the biggest sharks in the game as he played a brilliant knock of 145* off 272 balls against a Sri Lankan side that had four spinners in sub-continent conditions. Talk about adverse conditions! 

While his side did lose the game courtesy of a sensational double century from Dinesh Chandimal, Smith at least got a ton to his name after a long wait of sixteen innings in the red-ball format.

The recent years have made a few things blatantly clear, the two are maybe past their prime at this given point in time. You never know if Kohli or Williamson might fire back in form with a century in their upcoming games, but at the moment that would be one of the bravest bets on the planet.

While this may sound harsh to many, Virat Kohli currently is a shadow of his former self, uncontrolled aggression on the field hasn’t helped either. Animated send-offs to opposition players has been the tell of the tale from his outings. 

Those were the days when you opened the newspaper and saw the heading with Virat Kohli looking to the skies with his head raised high, and his face beaming in pride. It’s the same these days, albeit the emotion has changed with Kohli looking to the skies with his head raised high and asking the gods, just what went wrong.

It has been long since Kane Williamson has carried the hopes of his nation single-handedly on his shoulders. It feels like he’s slowly started to crumble under the very same pressure that established him amongst the elites in modern-day cricket.

Just look at his four dismissals in the latest tour of England, the Black Caps skipper lost his wicket not once or twice but thrice to the debutant Matty Potts, who sent him packing with similar deliveries outside the off-stump forcing him to nick it behind the stumps.

While one would say Williamson has the heart to smile even under disheartening setbacks. It isn’t too hard to look under that smile to see a weary man who’s tired of the constant failures and hiding under a mask that hides his pain from the world.

Remember when I said fab no more, it wasn’t just the game that made these players into modern-day legends. It was the aura around these elites that made people bow and pray on the ground they once upon a time walked on.