A few days ago, on one of my many Whatsapp groups for cricket, I was involved in quite a discussion regarding Virat Kohli.

It started off with whether Kohli was worthy of the ICC Award for ODI Cricketer of the Year, and then moved to his press conference at the conclusion of the second test against South Africa.

Some felt that Kohli had lost his cool and should not behaved the way he did. While others, including me, felt that the journalist was needlessly poking him and Kohli did nothing wrong.

Amidst all the discussion, I passed a statement (in context) about Kohli being the best batsman in the world at the moment.

One friend said it was debatable, to which I replied that among the current crop, he is far ahead of the likes of Steve Smith, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson and what is debatable is whether Kohli is the best ever batsman or not.

Average Across Formats

In my mind, there is absolutely no doubt that Virat Kohli is the best batsman in the world at the moment. The one fact that I always state to support that statement is that he is the only batsman in the world who averages above 50 in every format of the game.

There is no other batsman in the world, past or present, who has managed that.


Among the current crop of leading batsmen that play all three formats, only Joe Root and AB De Villiers average above fifty in two formats.

The 'Index' shown in the above table is an average that has been determined by assigning a weight of 50% to the test average, 40% to the ODI average, and 10% to the T20 average. This Index shows that Kohli is well ahead of the rest of the world.

Undoubtedly, Steve Smith has a remarkable test average is arguably the better Test batsman; however when it comes to adapting your game across formats, Kohli is the absolute champion.

Average in Subcontinent and Outside

The biggest criticism of batsmen from the Subcontinent is that they have inflated averaged because they score in batsmen friendly conditions at home and fail when batting in foreign conditions.

Strangely enough that argument is never used for batsmen from Australia and England when they pile on the runs at home and fail miserably in the Subcontinent.

Well, the table below will highlight that Virat Kohli is just as good in the Subcontinent as he is outside of it.


If anything, the table above shows that the Australian Pair - Smith and Warner - perform exceptionally at home and in similar conditions; however their average drops significantly in the subcontinent.

The South Africans are a strange anomaly as both AB and Amla average more in the subcontinent than they do outside of it.

Williamson and Root have the least difference between their averages in the two conditions.

Centuries Across Formats

The fact that impresses me most about Virat Kohli is his ability to score international hundreds.

Whether it is an ODI or a Test, whether his team is batting first or chasing, whether the match is played in home conditions or foreign, Kohli scores an international hundred on an average every 5.7 innings!

That is remarkable considering that no other batsman with at least 40 international centuries scores a hundred as frequently as every 6th inning.


Kohli has scored 53 international centuries. In ODIs, with 32 centuries, he is behind only Sachin Tendulkar. In tests he has a long way to go; however his combined tally is right up there with the best the world has ever seen.

Only Tendulkar, Ponting, Sangakkara, Kallis, and Amla have more international centuries than Kohli does. All of them have also batted in significantly more innings than Kohli has.

Barring Tendulkar, Kohli will surpass all of them in the next 3-4 years.

He has scored test centuries against all 7 opposition that he has faced. He has not played tests against Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Out of his 21 test hundreds, 10 have been scored in India and 11 outside India.

He has scored ODI centuries against all 9 test playing nations. Out of his 32 ODI hundreds, 14 were scored in India and 18 outside India.

This is his most remarkable feat. His ability to score hundreds frequently against all opposition and in all sorts of conditions.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Virat Kohli is the best batsman in the world currently and perhaps also the best ever to play cricket.

Dale Steyn’s long-awaited return to the international test fold got off to the perfect start. The Phalaborwa Express removed Shikhar Dhawan after just 14 balls during his first comeback spell when he took a catch off his own bowling after Dhawan had ballooned a pull after being rushed by Steyn’s skidding pace.

The roar of the Newlands crowd reverberated around Cape Town and could be heard on even the highest peaks of Table Mountain once Steyn had safely held onto the catch. The collective joy of cricket fans would have been shared throughout the world as Steyn got his reward after being out the game for 13 agonizing months.



Provided Rabada, Philander and Morkel remain fit, it looks unlikely that India will be able to overcome the fearsome trio. Steyn’s long-term future, however, is in more doubt than it has ever been and no one will be more aware of that than Steyn himself.

The England test team showed their inability to handle Australian conditions once again in the Ashes, a series in which they were comprehensively beaten 4-0 by the home side. That performance was simply not good enough from England, but it is more to do with the fact that they are unable to cope with conditions outside of their own, and that is something they need to address.

Next up for the test team is the short journey to New Zealand, a series which will not have as much focus as the Ashes, but will still be a tough test in similar conditions. The New Zealanders are nowhere near as good as the Australians, but they certainly have players who can trouble England with both the bat and the ball. After a poor result in Australia, morale in the England camp is sure to be low, but the players have to regroup and focus all their attention on the Kiwis, and how they can beat them.

England look like going with a very similar starting eleven in New Zealand, and it has already been confirmed that Mark Stoneman and JamesVince will keep their places in the squad. While it would have been nice to see the selectors freshen things up after such a disappointing performance against the Aussies, at least this opportunity gives players the chance to redeem themselves against slightly lower quality opposition.

When you look down the England lineup, there is hope that they can head to New Zealand and pick up a series victory against the Kiwis. Their batsmen should feel more at home on the pitches there, they don’t offer as much pace and bounce, and the bowlers running in at them don’t have the ability that a Mitchell Starc possesses. Expect to see a lot of support for England from the experts.

They are the better team on paper, and despite coming here on the back of a tough defeat, they have players with character and experience who can help turn things around.




One player who will help the England cause is MarkWood, who returns to the squad after injuries prevented him from playing in the Ashes. Wood has genuine pace and is the quickest England bowler available to them, so expect to see him take wickets on the pitches in New Zealand. He could bring what was missing from the bowling attack in Australia, and that is pace and aggression, expect to see him play well in New Zealand.

While the test on the field is not as tough, the trip to New Zealand is going to be a huge mental test for England, and we will see what their players are made of. They need to show mental toughness and character if they are to win against the Kiwis, a win they could really do with after such a disappointing Ashes series.

So after a 9-match ODI winning streak, Pakistan have now lost the first two ODIs in New Zealand and all has broken lose.

All of a sudden, the batting looks shaky, the captain looks concerned, and the bowling isn't good enough to contain the Kiwis.

So what has gone wrong?

Before that, lets first focus on what is right with this ODI team.

For starters, they have a world class modern day opener and one-down batsman in Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam.

The bowling is top quality, at least on paper. Aamer, Hasan, Rumman, Faheem, and Shadab provide for great variety and potency.

In Shadab, Faheem, and Hasan, Pakistan also has depth in its batting, which will come to use if only the top order can fire.

Now then, what is going wrong?

The bowling leaked 315 runs in the first ODI and could not defend 150 in 25 overs in the second. That is definitely not top quality. Maybe the bowlers have not been able to find their feet yet in NZ conditions. Maybe Guptill and Monroe are too good for them. Could be a number of reasons.

But then, you can't afford to drop players like Kane Williamson, because they will take full advantage of the chances given to them and go on to score a century.

Pakistan also refuses to learn from its mistakes.

Azhar Ali has gotten out in exactly the same manner in both ODIs. His dismissal in the second ODI was so identical that one could be forgiven to mistake it for a replay of the first ODI.

Shoaib Malik continues to edge it behind the wicket whenever he bats outside Asia.

With Hafeez not bowling any more, Pakistan's ODI side may not be big enough for both him and Malik. Especially with the likes of Haris Sohail sitting on the sidelines.

Another issue that needs to be sorted is the captain's batting number. Six is not the right number for him and too low for a batsman of his ability.

He needs to bat in the top 4.

In 13 innings at number 6 in ODIs, he has scored 268 runs at an average of 26.8 with 1 half century.

In 9 innings at number 5, he has scored 421 runs at an average of 60.1 with 1 century and 3 half centuries.

In 7 innings at number 4, he has scored 197 runs at an average of 39.4 with 1 half century.

In 9 innings as an opener, he has scored 344 runs at an average of 43.0 with 1 century and 1 half century.

It is evident that Sarfraz is better at all other positions, besides number 6. He is best at number 5, which is where he batted when Azhar Ali captained the ODI team.

The reason he is lingering down at 6 is because of the presence of Hafeez and Shoaib Malik in the team.

I believe the batting order requires a reshuffle.

Sarfraz needs to be pushed up. Haris Sohail needs to be brought in. One of Hafeez or Malik needs to be dropped.

Or if one wants both Hafeez and Malik in the side, then drop Azhar and make Hafeez open.

This may somewhat improve Pakistan's batting performance and changes need to be made soon as we are only 18 months away from the World Cup in 2019.

2017 was quite a year for Pakistan Cricket.

They won the Champions Trophy for the first time joining India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies as the only teams to win all major ICC trophies.

Pakistan won their first ever Test Series in the West Indies as Misbah and Younis bid farewell to the game.

Fakhar Zaman hit a memorable maiden ODI ton in the final of the Champions Trophy.

Hasan Ali became the number 1 ranked ODI bowler becoming the first Pakistani pacer to reach that ranking since the hey days of Wasim Akram in the 90s.

Imam Ul Haq hit a debut ODI century giving Pakistan another talented batsman.

Babar Azam's limited overs stock continue to grow with more centuries.

New talents like Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, and Rumman Raees continued to shine.

But the moment of the year for Pakistan cricket was surely this...


Aamer got Kohli twice in as many deliveries in a year when not many bowlers could claim to have got him even once.

It was an exceptional spell of bowling by Aamer as he dismissed the tournament's top 3 leading run scorers - Kohli, Rohit, and Dhawan - inside the first 10 overs and sealed the final for Pakistan.

Team Performance in 2017

In 2017, Pakistan's limited overs team had quite a turnaround with impressive performances in ODIs and T20, unlike in prior years.

Definitely that had something to do with the injection of new blood.

At the same time, Pakistan's test performance declined with the departure of stalwarts and despite winning their first ever series in the Caribbean, Pakistan also lost their first ever series in the UAE since it became their adopted home.




As you can see, Pakistan was the best performing T20 team, the 4th best in ODIs, and a low 7th in tests.

Batting Performance in 2017

In Tests, Pakistan's batting did not do much to write about. Azhar Ali was the leading run scorer with an average of 42.00. With the departure of Misbah and Younis, the likes of Azhar and Asad will have to take charge as the new blood will surely take time to settle down in international cricket.

In ODIs and T20s, Babar Azam emerged as Pakistan's new star. He was among the leading run scorers in the world in both formats - 9th in ODIs and 2nd in T20s. Surprisingly, Ahmed Shehzad was also one of the top scorers in T20s.



In ODIs, Babar's average was behind only Kohli, Sharma, and Root. And his tally of hundreds was behind only Kohli and Sharma.

Bowling Performances in 2017

In Tests, Yasir Shah continue to shine for Pakistan ending the year with 43 wickets to his name in only 6 test matches. Imagine how many he would have taken had he played as much as some of the other bowlers.

Yasir was the only bowler to pick up an average of 7 wickets or more in the tests he played. No other bowlers averaged even 6 wickets per match.


ODIs were dominated by Pakistan's newest pace sensation - Hasan Ali - who improved with every game that he played.

No pacer came even close to his tally of wickets, average, and strike rate. He even had the most 5 wicket hauls in the year.

The only bowler who had a better average and strike rate than Hasan was Afghanistan's spin maestro Rashid Khan.


In T20s, it was young leg spinner, Shadab Khan, who impressed finishing the year with the 5th highest wickets. He had a very impressive economy rate as well, which was bettered by only Rashid Khan.


It seems like Pakistan's test team will take some time to get back to the heights they had reached with Misbah at the helm, coupled with Younis as the guiding force for the batting line up.

However, in limited overs, Pakistan should continue to impress with all the new youngsters standing up to be counted.

Pakistan's ODI team has not been this exciting since the 90s.

They have a talented opener in Fakhar Zaman and another one waiting in the wings - Imam Ul Haq. They have one of the most impressive batsman produced by the country in Babar Azam. The bowling stocks are abundant with spinners like Yasir Shah, Imad Wasim, and Shadab Khan; and a pace battery comprising Mohammed Aamer, Hasan Ali, Rumman Raees, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Abbas, and plenty waiting in the wings.

To top it all, the likes of Hassan, Faheem, Imad, and Shadab are all quite handy with the bat.

Surely we are in for some exciting times for Pakistan Cricket.

A baptism of fire is almost guaranteed for any new captain who is overseeing his first Ashes series as the man in charge. The microscope focus is intense and both sets of fans and pundits unforgiving when the going gets tough. At 2-0 down in the series, it is safe to say the going will be getting close to unbearable for Root with his decision at the toss in Adelaide being crucified.

"Australia v England (2nd Test, Adelaide" (CC BY 2.0) by mertie.

Mistakes are there to be made and are all part of the learning curve a captain must experience on the journey to becoming a hardened leader. In this particular instance, it may cost England the Ashes as the win in Adelaide gave Australia a 2-0 lead as they head on to the WACA for the third test.

The last time England won at this historic ground was 1978 and they have lost their last seven tests against Australia there. A win for Steve Smith’s men here and they will take an unassailable lead and recapture the Ashes. It doesn't bear thinking about for Joe Root and he desperately needs to find a way to inspire his troops as they look to complete mission impossible.

"1st day, 3rd Test, AUS v RSA" (CC BY 2.0) by www.davidmolloyphotography.com

From whatever angle you look at it, it is hard to see England winning the next three tests. As it stands, they are 4/1 to win at the WACA but that may change as the game goes on should Root and his troops deliver an inspired performance against Australia; tipping and betting sites such as sportsbet.io will keep punters up to date with ongoing proceedings in Perth as England aim to fly out the traps and defy history.

There is a lot on the line for the young Root during the remainder of the season. It won’t be the end of the road for his captaincy even if they lose 5-0. There will be a lot of scrutiny going forward but he will live to see another day. If he turns this around then his future as England captain will be secure for as long as he plays the game.

In Joe Root's career, there won’t be many bigger tests of his captaincy than the one in front of him. All eyes will be on Root to see if he strengthens or withers. 

The rise of Pakistan's ODI and T20 teams, which is now ranked number 1, has been phenomenal. From winning the Champions Trophy to clean sweeping Sri Lanka, it has all unfolded with great thrill for Pakistan fans, and all of us are extremely excited for 2019 and rightly so.

Young blood has truly come to the fore and the rise of Babar Azam and Hasan Ali, coupled with the emergence of new stars like Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Imam Ul Haq, Imad Wasim, Rumman Raees, and Fahim Ashraf has really set the stage alight for Pakistan's limited overs team.

Here is a look back at what Babar Azam and Hasan Ali have achieved for Pakistan in recent times.

BABAR AZAM
The career of arguably Pakistan's best limited over batsman ever is unfolding right in front of our eyes and Pakistan's ODI batting has not looked this good since the days of Inzamam Ul Haq, which ended a decade ago.

Babar is currently ranked number 4 in the ICC Rankings, behind Kohli, ABD, and Warner.

Babar has rapidly risen the ranks and this year he is among the leading run scorers in ODIs with an average and century tally behind only the Indian duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.


Babar hit his first ODI century on 30 September 2016. Since then he has hit another 6 ODI centuries within a span of 12 months. During this period, he has hit the most ODI centuries, equal with Kohli and Warner, and his average is second only to Kohli.


All of Babar's 7 ODI centuries have come while batting at number 3. Out of all batsmen who have scored at least 1,000 runs while batting at number 3 in ODIs, Babar has the highest average ever, and he is miles ahead of everyone else.


Not only does Babar average better than all batsmen at number 3, he was also quickest to 1,000 runs at the position, breaking the previous record held by Sir Viv Richards.

He also got to 1,000 runs in ODIs quicker than any batsman from Pakistan and equaled the world record of 21 innings, which he jointly holds with Sir Viv Richards, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, and Quinton De Kock.


Babar is only 23 and has his entire career ahead of himself. He can achieve wonders and go on to become the best limited overs batsman ever produced by Pakistan.

HASAN ALI
Since making his ODI debut a year and a bit back, Hasan has risen to the status of being Pakistan's most potent striker with the ball. In just 26 ODIs, he has a tally of 56 wickets at a sub-20 average, and a strike rate of 23. In his last 9 ODIs he has picked up a whopping 26 wickets!

Hasan is currently the number 1 ranked bowler in the world. A feat that no pacer from Pakistan achieved since Wasim Akram was on top in 1994.

Hasan recently got to his 50th wicket in only his 24th ODI, breaking the Waqar Younis' record for Pakistan of being the fastest to the 50 wicket tally in ODIs. Hasan reached the tally in the joint second fewest number of ODIs among pacers and third overall.


Among all bowlers who have taken at least 50 wickets in ODIs, Hasan has the best strike rate and the best average EVER!


Hasan is also only 23 years old and has his entire career ahead of him.

Babar and Hasan have a lot to do with Pakistan's recent ODI success. They are on a streak of 9 consecutive ODI wins, which is their third best streak, behind the 10 they achieved in 1990 and their record of 12 achieved in 2008.

Both of them can take Pakistan to even greater heights in the future years.

From Javed Miandad to Inzamam Ul Haq to Mohammad Yousuf to Younis Khan, Pakistan have always had a formidable number 4 in Test matches. In most of Pakistan's Test XIs, the number four batsman is usually their primary batsman.

Javed Miandad fulfilled that role for most part of his career. He batted at number 4 in 140 out of his 189 test innings.

Once he retired, Saleem Malik took over the number four position briefly, before moving back to number five and promoting Inzamam Ul Haq up the order.

Inzamam batted at four in half of his total career innings and made that position his own before moving down the order and promoting Mohammad Yousuf to four, who was at the time at the peak of his batting prowess.

Younis Khan, who had batted at number three for most of his career and formed part of Pakistan's best test middle order with Inzamam and Yousuf, moved to the number four position after the retirements of the latter two.

Younis batted at 4 till the end of his career performing as well as he had done at three and as well as his predecessors.


As evident, all these batsmen performed admirably at number four.

So who is going to fill these big boots now that Younis Khan has retired?

More importantly, who is going to fill the big hole left in Pakistan's Test middle order with the retirements of both Younis and Misbah Ul Haq?

In the past 7 years since Misbah took over Pakistan's Test captaincy, he and Younis have collectively scored 30% of Pakistan's Test runs and 38% of Pakistan's Test hundreds.

How do you replace 9,000 test runs and 26 test centuries?

Just like Miandad and Malik passed on the mantle to Inzamam and Yousuf, they passed it on to Younis and Misbah. And now with these two moving on, the mantle sits firmly with Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq.

Both Azhar and Asad made their test debuts around the same time as Misbah made his test captaincy debut. During this period, Azhar and Asad have established themselves as the cornerstones of Pakistan's test batting line up.

While Azhar made his mark as a number 3 and later as an opener, Asad has made history as a number 6 test batsman.

Asad will most likely fill the vacant number 4 position, but Pakistan still require two test batsmen to bat at numbers 5 and 6.

Here is a list of potential incumbents whom I believe can take Pakistan's Test team forward.

FAWAD ALAM

He is 31. He has scored over 10,000 first class runs with 25 centuries and averages 56, higher than any other cricketer in Pakistan ever.

He has played 3 tests for Pakistan and even scored a debut 100. In fact he was the first batsman from Pakistan to score a test century on debut away from home.

Yet after 6 test innings, he was discarded and never played a test again.

In last season's Quaid-e-Azam trophy, he averaged 55, scoring 500 runs in 11 innings. In every first class season, he is among the leading run scorers. I have not seen a more consistent batsman in Pakistan than Fawad and it will always remain a mystery to me as to why he is constantly ignored by the selectors.

USMAN SALAHUDDIN

This 26 year old batsman from Lahore was picked for 2 ODIs during the tour to the West Indies in 2011. He did not appear for the international side after that, however he has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket.

In 10 first class seasons, he has piled on 6,000 runs with 19 centuries at an impressive average of 47.

He was the 4th highest run scorer in the last Quaid-e-Azam Trophy where he amassed 843 runs in 17 innings with 3 centuries and 5 fifties at an average of 70.

He has been on the verge of national selection for a while now and it is finally time he finds a permanent spot in Pakistan's Test XI.

HARIS SOHAIL

Haris has not played a first class match in over 3 years due to injury, however he has a phenomenal record, and he has shown in ODIs that he belongs at the highest level of the game.

His career first class average of 52 and 11 centuries in 80 odd innings with a career best of 211* suggests that he is made for the long version of the game. Even in ODIs, he showed his liking for staying at the crease, and his ODI average of 43 demonstrates that he is a world class batsman.

He might be the ideal replacement for a batsman like Misbah.

IMAM UL HAQ

He is only 21 and has been around for only 3 seasons. His overall first class average of 35 suggests that he still has to establish himself in the domestic circuit; however he has just had a breakthrough season where he notched up 848 runs in 20 innings in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and ended the tournament as its third highest run scorer.

Imam, who is the nephew of Chief Selector Inzamam Ul Haq, was extremely impressive in the QEA Trophy where he knocked 3 centuries and 3 fifties, including a career best unbeaten 200.

Some may feel that it may be too early to blood him, but I feel it might just be the right time for a young batsmen with tremendous potential to be introduced the highest level.

ASIF ZAKIR

A veteran of the domestic circuit, Asif has been around for 15 years and at 33 he might be past the ideal age to make a test debut, but then we have all seen Misbah blossom as a test batsman after the age of 35.

Asif's overall first class record is not that impressive - 7,000 runs, 19 centuries, and average of 37. However, he was the second highest run scorer in last season's Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with 853 runs in 11 innings at an average of 85.3. He hit as many as 4 centuries during the tournament.


So there are a few options for Pakistan's selectors to consider. Pakistan's next test series is some time away so the selectors have time on their hands before making their decisions. It will be interesting to note which batsmen make it into the squad and then which two make it to the XI.

My first two choices will be Fawad Alam and Haris Sohail; however I would also like to see Usman Salahuddin and Imam Ul Haq in the squad.

With Babar Azam set at number 3, ideally Asad Shafiq should move up to number 4, with the two new batsmen fitting in at 5 and 6.

Sami Aslam should also be brought back to open with Azhar Ali. The tour to West Indies showed us that Ahmed Shehzad and Shan Masood are not in the same league as Sami, who impressed with his temperament during the tour of England.

Azhar, Sami, Babar, Asad, Haris, Fawad sounds formidable enough to me!