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'Root Is Best Among Fab 4' - Alastair Cook Heaps Massive Praise On Ex-ENG Skipper

Abhinav Tyagi

Cook on Sachin Tendulkar- (Source: @EnglandCricket/X.com)Cook on Sachin Tendulkar- (Source: @EnglandCricket/X.com)

Former England captain Alastair Cook has jumped onto the bandwagon and opined his views on the ongoing 'Root vs Tendulkar' debate and backed his countrymen to go past the Indian legend's Test run tally. 

At present, Root has 12716 runs in 148 games and requires just 3005 runs to go past Tendulkar to become the leading run-getter in Test cricket. Meanwhile, Cook has backed Root to become the first man in Test cricket to score 16000 runs. 

Cook Heaps Massive Praise On Joe Root

He further heaped massive praise on Root and labelled him the best player of the current generation and also the best batter among the Fab Four. 

Cook believes that he is currently the best batter in the world, perhaps only matched by New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, and showing better form than both Steve Smith and Virat Kohli – the other members of the group known by many as the ‘big four’.

“I think at this precise moment in time, I find it hard to see anyone playing as well as Joe Root. Over the last year or so, of the so-called ‘Big Four’, I think Williamson and him are probably in the best form at the moment, " he said. 

“They're all wonderful, wonderful players, all very different, actually, in their methods and ways of playing. But one thing which kind of unites them is that hunger and desire to keep improving and keep churning out the runs," he added.

Decoding Fab Four's Numbers In 2024

It is worth noting that Root is the leading run-getter in Tests in 2024. He has amassed 1300 runs this year in just 13 matches, at an average of 61.90. His stats include five centuries and four fifties. Root is the only cricketer this year to score 1000+ runs in Test matches. 

Talking about other Fab 4 members, Williamson is next with 618 runs in six matches. Virat Kohli is third with 227 runs in four matches, while Steve Smith is having a year to forget with 213 runs in 5 matches.