The Oddsworth Smell Test
Claim
“Virat Kohli is the epitome of an all-format batter”
Smells right
Data Kohli’s weakest-format batting average is 46.9, against 39.2 for nearest challenger Babar Azam among the qualifying men’s all-format batters.
Virat Kohli is the complete all-format batter. Among the qualifying men across Tests, ODIs and T20 internationals, his average in his weakest format is 46.9, against 39.2 for his nearest challenger, Babar Azam. That is a wide gap on the measure an all-format reputation finds hardest to hold.
Kohli’s weakest format is Tests. Babar’s is the T20 international, where his 39.2 sits well below his returns in the longer formats. The man closest to Kohli drops much further in his least productive format than Kohli does in his.
His ODI batting strengthens the argument. Among those qualifying men, Kohli averages 58.3 in ODIs against Babar’s 53.6. The closest challenger on weakest-format average also trails him comfortably in the longer white-ball game.
The scoring-speed challenge
Harry Brook supplies a clear challenge on tempo: among the qualifying men, his T20 international strike rate is 165.4 against Kohli’s 136. A captain seeking faster scoring has reason to look beyond Kohli.
That comparison gives Brook a persuasive claim on one part of the job. Across formats, Kohli’s weakest average remains comfortably ahead of every challenger shown. The claim that he epitomises an all-format batter holds.