Shoaib Akhtar picks his favourite batsman among the modern-day fab four

Akhtar made his pick in Q&A session on Twitter.

Published - 09 Apr 2019, 12:17 IST | Updated - 09 Apr 2019, 12:17 IST

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Over the last few years, the fab four has dominated world cricket. Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root have been topping batting charts for some time now. However, the 12-month ban hasn’t done any good to Steve Smith as the Kohli and Williamson seemed to have raised their game a notch higher. The two of them have been supremely consistent in all three formats.

Virat Kohli, in particular, has dominated run charts over the last few years. He has risen to the No. 1 rankings for batsmen in both Tests and ODIs. The Indian skipper has conquered strong bowling attacks in difficult conditions in South Africa, England and Australia. He scored hundreds in all three countries.

Kohli also swept through the ICC Awards this time around as he won the ICC Cricketer of the Year, ICC Test Batsman of the Year and ICC ODI batsman of the Year. He was the leading run-getter in 2018 in Tests and ODI cricket. Kohli scored a staggering 2735 runs in the 2018 calendar year.

Shoaib Akhtar who has always admired the Indian skipper picked him over his counterparts. In a question and answer session on Twitter, he answered a fan’s question who asked him to pick one of Williamson, Smith, Root and Warner. The former Pakistani pacer without any hesitation picked Kohli.

@imVkohli
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) April 8, 2019

Brian Lara is my favorite batsman: Shoaib Akhtar

Brian Lara is one of the few cricketers who has amassed in excess of 10,000 runs in both ODI and Test match cricket. He is a role model for a lot of youngsters and modern-day cricketers. In fact, a lot of former cricketers have named Lara as the toughest man to bowl to as well.

Shoaib Akhtar has never dismissed the West Indian great in his career. However, when asked who his favourite batsman was, he named the left-handed legend. It was in the same question and answer session that Akhtar named Lara as his favourite.