Cricket's next Fab Four

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The ' Fab Four ' is a term we use in cricket to refer to the likes of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root.

Their ability to score runs consistently year after year sets them apart from the rest.

However, in coming years the Fab four would eventually start to decline. So the question is who will take their places in future.

So for this I have made a list who I think can claim these positions. Let's begin

1. Shai Hope (West Indies)

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This man is West Indies cricket's biggest hope. He made is debut in 2015 against England in a test match. He made his ODI debut in 2016.But Hope announced his arrival in world cricket in 2017 when he led West Indies to a historic win against England. Since Hope's debut in November 2016, only Virat Kohli (3954) and Rohit Sharma (3750) have scored more runs than him. He has been a force to reckon with in ODIs but his Test career hasn't taken off in the way it should have. His average of 52.20 in ODIs says it all. It may surprise many of you but he is the fastest West Indian to score fifty in T20Is for which he took 16 balls. Even Sir Garry Sobers was also impressed with Shai Hope in their first meeting only. In the upcoming series against England Shai Hope will look to turnaround his fortunes in Test cricket.

2. KL Rahul (India)

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In last 2 years KL Rahul has showed tremendous growth in his game. He is a  batsman who can bat at any number from top order to middle order. He is absolute class. He is also the fastest batsman to score a half century in IPL and it took him just 14 balls to achieve the feat. He makes every shot look easy. Also I think he could lead India in future after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.In last  ODI series against New Zealand he scored 204 runs at an average of 102 while ending up as the second-highest scorer in the 3-match series behind Shreyas Iyer (217). His last two IPL seasons were exceptional , with run tallies of 593 and 659 in the last two editions respectively. He has all the skills to become the best batsman.

3. Babar Azam (Pakistan)

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We all know that Virat Kohli is one of the most consistent batsman in all formats of the game and a modern day legend. But in recent years fans around the world has started a debate that has gained huge attention among the fans and cricket experts is "Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam". Over the last few years he has emerged as Pakistan's most consistent batsman due to which he was made the captain of the team in white ball format. Many legends of the game have given positive feedback about Babar Azam. Also he is the only batsman to be ranked in the top 5 of all the formats. Next two years will be very crucial for him. He averages above 50 in both ODIs and T20Is while averaging 45 in Test cricket.

4. Nicholas Pooran (West Indies)

Nicholas Pooran raised several eyebrows with his performances at the 2014 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He was the fourth-highest run-scorer in the tournament, scoring 303 runs with one hundred and two fifties at an average of 60.6. His innings of 143* against Australia in the quarterfinal was undoubtedly the best innings of the tournament. Pooran has a bright future even Australian cricket star Steve Smith also praised him. From a career ending injury to his debut World Cup he has an inspiring story for many of us.finished the 2019 World Cup as the leading run-scorer for West Indies, scoring 367 runs in nine matches which included a maiden ODI century against Sri Lanka. He is a well known player in franchise cricket. In coming years West Indies will start looking at him as an option in Test cricket too. He is an exciting player to watch and can take world cricket by storm in coming years.

Special Mention

Aiden Markram (South Africa)

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Aiden Markram was the captain of the South Africa in 2014 U19 World Cup where the Proteas won for the first time. He impressed everyone with his batting and captaincy so much that many felt he would go on to captain South Africa in future. In the four-match Test series against Australia in 2018, Markram was the top-scorer with 480 runs at an average of 60, scoring two hundreds and a fifty. However, after that series he failed to score a hundred in his next 10 Test matches. A string of inconsistent performances meant that he was in and out of the team. In my opinion he got the potential to succeed and will become a batting mainstay for South Africa.

Marnus Labuschagne (Australia)

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It may be premature to say anything about his long-term potential but I feel he has got what it takes to become one of the best batsman in the world. Labuschagne  had one of the most incredible Australian summers by a batsman. He scored 896 runs in five games. The right-hander tallied 347 runs against Pakistan at an average of 173.5 and 549 runs against New Zealand at an average of 91.5. He also became the first player to be a concussion substitute (for Steve Smith) in a Test match. He was then selected for the third Test in Smith's absence where he impressed everyone by scoring fifties in each innings. He scored 359 runs in the series and ended up as the fourth-highest run-scorer, having played only seven innings. The right-hander finished 2019 as the highest run-scorer in Test cricket after scoring 1,104 runs. He was also the ICC Emerging player of the year 2019. The right-hander has made a good start but only time will tell if he can prove to be one of the heirs to the Fab Four. 

These players in my opinion can be the successors of the Fab four. If you feel someone is missing , please tell us in the comment section.