Ben Duckett exposed by Aakash Chopra after being crowned ‘Best all-format batter in the world’

Former India National Cricket Team opening batsman Aakash Chopra has shared his blunt views on the claims of the England National Cricket Team star Ben Duckett being the best all-format batter in the world.

Aakash Chopra said that with the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the pool of genuine all-format batters in international cricket has become very limited, leading experts to acknowledge Ben Duckett as one of the best in the world.

Ben Duckett demolished the Indian bowling unit in Leeds

The 30-year-old England National Cricket Team left-handed opening batsman Ben Duckett showcased his batting brilliance in the first Test of the five-match series against the India National Cricket Team at Headingley in Leeds.

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Duckett batted with a positive intent in both innings against the Indian team and took the Jasprit Bumrah-led bowling attack to the cleaners.

In the first innings, he hit a terrific half-century and finished with a knock of 62 runs off 94 balls, with 9 fours, and in the second innings, Ben Duckett scored 149 runs off 170 balls, with 21 fours and 1 six, helping England chase down 371 runs.

Overall, the English batter has featured in 34 Test matches and has scored 2621 runs at an average of 43.7 and a strike rate of 86.2. He has also played 25 ODIs for England and has scored 1176 runs at an average of 49.04 and a strike rate of 105.5.

In T20Is, Ben Duckett has played 20 matches for the Three Lions and has scored 527 runs at an average of 29.3 and a strike rate of 153.6. With his consistent performances over the last couple of years, Duckett has booked his place in the England team across all three formats.

Until Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were playing all 3 formats, he was not even in the conversation - Aakash Chopra

After the first Test between India and England, former England skipper Michael Vaughan claimed that Duckett is the best all-format batter in international cricket at the moment.

Meanwhile, speaking on his official YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said that the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from T20Is and Tests brought Ben Duckett into the discussions of best all-format batters, and if the Indian batting duo were still playing, the Englishman wouldn't have been in the picture.

Although Aakash Chopra acknowledged that Duckett is one of the best in the world at the moment, he added that the batter needs to prove his credentials in different conditions.

"If we see Ben Duckett's performance, you will have to concede that he is good. He has performed very well over the last two years across the three formats. The first thing is that until Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were playing all 3 formats, he was not even in the conversation. They were like the Himalayas, and everything, no matter how big it might be, looks small in front of a mountain," Aakash Chopra said.

"Once they retired, you suddenly felt that all-format players have become very limited, and that he (Duckett) is the best among those who remained. However, there is a caveat. He hasn't played Test cricket in Australia, played a total of three innings in South Africa, and his performance has been limited in India. So it's not a straightforward done-and-dusted story," Aakash Chopra added.

I think Travis Head is slightly ahead of him - Aakash Chopra

The cricketer-turned-commentator further rated the Australia National Cricket Team star Travis Head superior to Ben Duckett as an all-format batter because of his performances in big games. He elaborated:

"Travis Head is standing next to him. If you see Travis Head's last two years' numbers, you would say, 'Wait, Michael Vaughan.' He might be slightly behind in Tests, but when you see ODI cricket, and the big matches, you look at the 2023 WTC final and the 2023 ODI World Cup final, scoring runs in big matches is the biggest yardstick.

"This guy does that job. So if you do man-to-man marking, the numbers are quite similar, Ben Duckett is ahead in some areas and Travis Head is ahead in other areas, but, in my humble opinion, I think Travis Head is slightly ahead of him just because he has done very well in big moments," Chopra observed.

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