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Former India National Cricket Team opener Aakash Chopra mentioned his favorite batters, including Shubman Gill, who could become the next-gen 'Fab Four '. Over the years, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson ruled the cricketing world with their batting. These four cricketers are well over in their thirties and nearing all-format retirements.
As soon as they announce their retirements from international cricket, the era of Kohli, Smith, Root and Williamson will come to an end. Former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe used the term 'Fab Four' to draw a line between Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson. So technically, the first set of the Fab Four is in its final chapter. Therefore, the question is natural: what will be the next Fab Four in world cricket?
Aakash Chopra names next-gen Fab Four with Shubman Gill
Aakash Chopra, via CREX, picked his favorite next-gen Fab Four. In Chopra's list of favorites, there are two Indian cricketers: India's Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill and the young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.
While the selection of Shubman Gill sounds sensible, Yashasvi Jaiswal was a surprising choice as the southpaw has so far played a very limited number of matches across the white-ball formats.
Since becoming the captain of the India National Cricket Team, Shubman Gill has been in great form, especially in the Tests and ODIs. He is currently out of the T20I team, but performed well for the Gujarat Titans in the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Across all three formats, Shubman Gill has already impressively left his mark. Across different formats, since the start of last year, he scored 2,525 runs at an average of almost 55, including nine centuries.
Yashasvi Jaiswal so far batted promisingly for India
The case of Yashasvi Jaiswal is different. Across all three international formats, the opener possesses stunning records, but is not among the regular batters for India in ODIs and T20Is.
He has scored 1,131 runs across formats in 19 matches for India at an average of almost 42 with five centuries. Yashasvi Jaiswal has so far played only six ODIs and 23 T20Is in his career, alongside 31 Test matches.
Harry Brook and Rachin Ravindra are the other two batter picks by Aakash Chopra
For the remaining two spots of the next-gen Fab Four, Aakash Chopra named the white-ball format captain of the England National Cricket Team, Harry Brook, and the New Zealand opener Rachin Ravindra.
Brook is among the very few active cricketers who have been playing effectively across all three formats for the national team. He has claimed 2,745 runs at an average of almost 40 and a strike rate of 104.85, including five centuries, in 66 matches across different formats, since the beginning of 2025.
The top-order batter of the New Zealand National Cricket Team, Rachin Ravindra, is undoubtedly a class player who has proved himself in 50-over and Test formats, but has struggled a lot in the Twenty20 format in the recent past. In 63 matches for New Zealand across ODIs and Tests, the batter's batting average is well over forty.
