Cricket divides the room the way great art does. One cover-drive sets off debates that rage long into the night: world best batsman, greatest batters ever, number 1 batsman in the world right now. The question is intoxicating precisely because batting is a hundred micro‑skills wrapped in context—format, surface, ball, match situation, opposition quality, and pressure. I’ve spent a career tracking those details across continents and formats. This page brings them together: a living answer to who the best batsman in the world is today, who leads by format, the top women’s batters, and where the all‑time greats truly stand. It is opinion, yes, but pinned down by data, a transparent methodology, and the hard truths only found in the dirt of the middle.
Quick answer: Who is the No.1 batsman in the world today?
There are two valid ways to answer this. The official path runs through ICC batting rankings, which update after every series and capture standardized, opponent‑adjusted performance. The other path—ours—weights match context, opposition quality, home/away split, and impact in chases or fourth‑innings situations. Call it the Form + Impact Index. It tells you who is actually winning matches with the bat right now.
Today’s No.1 at a glance (editorial Form + Impact Index)
- Overall all‑format: Babar Azam
Why: Relentless ODI consistency, elite T20I scoring tempo without chaos, and strong Test output with a high baseline of control. Minimal slumps, high series‑to‑series carryover.
- Test: Kane Williamson
Why: Classic in‑the‑corridor technique, otherworldly conversion rate, and unmatched patience. The most bankable wicket for a full session when conditions bite.
- ODI: Babar Azam
Why: Top‑order anchor with century frequency, strike‑rotation mastery, and a low false‑shot profile against new‑ball seam.
- T20I: Suryakumar Yadav
Why: The most efficient 360‑degree hitter of modern times—high intent, high boundary percentage, and sky‑high repeatability against pace and spin.
Note: The official ICC list can differ on a given day; it often cycles among a tight set of elite names. Our index is designed to be updateable and explicitly weights match impact more than the raw accumulation of runs.
How we decide: the methodology behind “world best batsman”
The world’s best batter isn’t a vibe. It’s a weighted score. Our model blends results from the last two seasons with a smaller tail of the season before that to stabilize for short‑term noise. ICC ranking is one input, not the verdict. Here’s the structure.
- Time‑decay performance window
- Last 12 months: 60% weight
- Previous 12 months: 30%
- Prior form tail: 10%
- Opposition strength and conditions
- Opponent quality rating: Weighted off ICC team ratings and bowling‑attack ELO
- Venue context: Home/away and specific country adjustments (e.g., subcontinental spin, SENA seam)
- Toss/conditions factor: Helps normalize for extreme batting or bowling conditions
- Match impact coefficients
- Chasing value in ODIs and T20Is (+5% to +20% depending on target)
- Fourth‑innings Test runs weighted by match state (+15%)
- Pressure index by wicket situation: early wickets amplify value for Nos. 3–5
- Game state leverage (Win Probability Added): Rewards innings that shift outcomes
- Consistency and volatility control
- Z‑score normalized averages and strike rates
- False‑shot percentage and control percentage where ball‑tracking data exists
- Dismissal types and repeatability markers (e.g., attacking vs defensive error)
- Role adjustments
- Openers in Tests face a higher new‑ball tax; middle‑order value rises for rescue acts
- In T20I, powerplay specialists weighted differently to death‑overs specialists
- Format balance for overall No.1
- Test: 40%
- ODI: 35%
- T20I: 25%
The split reflects difficulty of run‑making per ball and the scarcity of long‑form mastery, while still respecting the modern white‑ball calendar.
Best Batsman by Format – Top 10 and why they’re here
Test cricket: top 10 batsmen right now (editorial index)
- Kane Williamson (New Zealand) – Late play and still head position; converts starts, barely offers chances. Feeds on discipline, turns fifty into match‑resulting tons.
- Joe Root (England) – The most inventive red‑ball rotator; late dab and lap sweep revolutionized his subcontinental game. Away monster.
- Steve Smith (Australia) – Eccentric technique that warps lines. Leaves better than anyone, wins battles on length, unshakeable in long spells.
- Virat Kohli (India) – Restored off‑stump judgment, ironclad back‑foot punches. When he bats first hour clean, India rarely lose.
- Babar Azam (Pakistan) – Tight high-elbow classical method; nimble on slow turners, near‑perfect cover drive under the eyes.
- Marnus Labuschagne (Australia) – Early trigger sets him up for length; supreme concentration. Averages high in SENA with adhesive partnerships.
- Kane Williamson’s foil, Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand) – A modern engine room. Scores quietly into big totals; excellent with tail.
- Harry Brook (England) – Violent hands but ludicrous hand‑eye. Turns length balls through midwicket from off‑stump; flips match tempo.
- Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka) – Old‑school opener. Values the first 30 balls like gold; wears out seamers, crafts big away innings.
- Rohit Sharma (India) – Once he settles beyond 30, the game flips. Pull shot to length balls blunts hostile pace.
Honorable mentions: Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Kane’s long‑term partner Tom Latham, Aiden Markram’s resurgence.
ODI cricket: top 10 batsmen right now
- Babar Azam (Pakistan) – High baseline average with risk‑managed strike‑rate. Devours overs 11–40; century rate among the best active players.
- Virat Kohli (India) – Greatest ODI chaser. Tempo sense is a superpower: never behind the rate, never ahead recklessly.
- Rohit Sharma (India) – The best opening batsman in ODI for shock value. Powerplay bully who still goes long; six‑hitting arc pristine.
- Shubman Gill (India) – Languid timing, fast hands through extra cover. Reads lengths early; ideal second‑gear engine.
- Quinton de Kock (South Africa) – Left‑handed flow; punctures fields early then coasts. Notches big hundreds when he gets past 20.
- Kane Williamson (New Zealand) – Master of risk‑free accumulation. Boundary count lower, mistake count lowest.
- Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa) – Spin destroyer in the middle overs; down the ground power, low backlift, sky‑high boundary percentage.
- David Warner (Australia) – Powerplay destructor. Back‑foot punch through point still liquid gold on hard decks.
- Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand) – Reliability dialed to eleven. Builds totals from one side; great hands against seam when set.
- Babar’s partner Imam‑ul‑Haq (Pakistan) – Underrated for pace management; plays percentages meticulously.
Honorable mentions: KL Rahul, Jos Buttler, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Ibrahim Zadran.
T20I cricket: top 10 batsmen right now
- Suryakumar Yadav (India) – Best t20 batter purely on options. Hits the same ball to four zones; sweeps pace, ramps length, holds base.
- Jos Buttler (England) – Stately base, late hands, devastating under lights. Opens with intent and finishes when needed.
- Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan) – Methodical accumulator with high floor; partners chaos perfectly, runs hard, elite against spin.
- Glenn Maxwell (Australia) – Wild genius. Open stance creates insane angles; back‑shoulder power punishes length both ways.
- Travis Head (Australia) – Relentless on hard lengths, just stays leg‑side and hits through the line. Momentum magnet.
- Phil Salt (England) – Simplifies hitting zones; low‑sweep bat path keeps mishits powerful. Big on pace.
- Babar Azam (Pakistan) – T20I strike‑rate tailored for anchor role; maximizes boundary balls without overreach.
- Nicholas Pooran (West Indies) – Golf‑swing leverage; flat hits over extra cover and midwicket. Play‑and‑miss less than you think.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal (India) – Fearless feet to the pitch; loft over extra cover with zero backlift. Turns powerplay into a launchpad.
- Aiden Markram (South Africa) – Elegant hitter who’s found a brutal gear. Strong vs spin in the middle overs.
Honorable mentions: Rilee Rossouw, Fakhar Zaman, Dawid Malan, Rinku Singh, Saim Ayub.
Role-based leaders inside the formats
- Best opening batsman in ODI: Rohit Sharma
Rationale: Converts starts to match‑breaking big hundreds, breaks fields with pulls and lofted straight shots, and sets chases up in the first powerplay.
- Best middle‑order batsman in Tests: Joe Root
Rationale: Comes in early often, rebuilds with soft hands, then accelerates with the reverse sweep/scoop package that nullifies spinners.
- Best finisher batsman in ODI/T20: Different flavors
- ODI finisher: Virat Kohli in chases, and Glenn Maxwell for end‑overs leap. Kohli kills risk with singles pressure; Maxwell ends hope with angle‑creation.
- T20 finisher: Jos Buttler and Nicholas Pooran share the crown—Buttler’s killing blow in overs 16–20 is textbook; Pooran’s low‑trajectory power is unparalleled.
- Best against spin vs pace
- Against spin: Suryakumar Yadav, Heinrich Klaasen, Babar Azam. SKY’s sweep matrix is a playbook; Klaasen’s pace‑off muscle is unique; Babar’s soft hands and length reading are elite.
- Against high pace: Steve Smith (leaves and late hands), Rohit Sharma (pull), Travis Head (leg‑side clearance), Quinton de Kock (back‑foot drives).
- Highest Test batting average (all‑time): Don Bradman
The outlier. His average is cricket’s lonely mountain. The argument ends and begins with him when “greatest batsmen of all time” enters the room.
Best Women’s Batter – current No.1 and Top 10
Women’s batting has exploded in depth and skill. The best women’s ODI and T20I batters are not just scoring more; they’re doing it with well‑calibrated risk and pace.
Current leaders (editorial view)
- Women’s ODI No.1: Chamari Athapaththu
Why: Acceleration from the top, six‑hitting threat rare in the format, and performances that routinely punch above team resources.
- Women’s T20I No.1: Beth Mooney
Why: The best tempo setter in women’s T20Is—calculates chase par rates almost intuitively and minimizes dot balls without slogging.
Top 10 women’s ODI batters (editorial index)
- Chamari Athapaththu – Fearless, left‑handed power, elevates team ceilings.
- Laura Wolvaardt – Orthodoxy and elegance. Drives on‑length balls through the covers with surgical precision.
- Alyssa Healy – Early pressure, aerial options, and choke‑free chases from the top.
- Smriti Mandhana – High‑class timing; off‑side play among the finest with a rising six range.
- Meg Lanning – Command of the chase and tempo. The framework many modern batters copy.
- Ellyse Perry – Technique born for longevity; owns the V yet expanded 360 without losing shape.
- Nat Sciver‑Brunt – Power and balance, excels against length with pick‑up hits straight.
- Harmanpreet Kaur – Knows when to go nuclear; one of the great big‑game hitters in the women’s game.
- Amelia Kerr – Rare blend of elegance and efficiency in the middle overs; growing power game.
- Heather Knight – Situational smarts, excels when rebuilding.
Top 10 women’s T20I batters (editorial index)
- Beth Mooney – The blueprint for controlled aggression.
- Smriti Mandhana – Uses the pace of the ball beautifully; placement genius in the powerplay.
- Alyssa Healy – When she goes early, totals jump by twenty without trying.
- Sophie Devine – Muscle with method; punishes anything on a length.
- Harmanpreet Kaur – Yorker‑length assassin late in the innings.
- Shafali Verma – Long levers, earlier contact, high ceiling; reducing soft dismissals each season.
- Laura Wolvaardt – Technique‑first batter whose T20 gears have matured.
- Tahlia McGrath – Middle‑overs pace and spin equally dismantled, strike‑rate climbs without slog.
- Ashleigh Gardner – Clearing the ropes is routine; match‑tilter in five balls.
- Amelia Kerr – Uses angles, sweeps, and clever pace changes to turn overs into mini‑wins.
Greatest Batsmen of All Time – how we measure, who makes it
Criteria for “greatest batsmen of all time”
- Run dominance over era: How far ahead of contemporaries and how consistently.
- Conditions range: Performance across continents and against different ball types.
- Match‑situation weight: Chases, fourth innings, batting with tail, series deciders.
- Longevity and peak overlap: Long primes plus monstrous peaks.
- Role: Openers taxed for new ball; keepers and all‑rounders given adjusted credit if batting volume is elite.
All‑time top 15 (Test/ODI/T20I influence blended, Tests weighted most)
- Don Bradman – The immovable summit. Relative dominance so absurd it changes the graph.
- Sachin Tendulkar – Two‑decade beacon, all formats, all countries, all attacks. The complete manual.
- Brian Lara – The great soloist; highest ceilings, the biggest knocks often against the best.
- Ricky Ponting – Pull shot of thunder; series‑changer as captain and batter across formats.
- Jacques Kallis – Averages and volumes of a pure great plus a complete bowling career. Longevity royalty.
- Virat Kohli – White‑ball GOAT credentials with a Test engine; the chase artist of an era.
- Viv Richards – Fearless before fearlessness was fashionable; imposed pace on Tests long before T20 was born.
- Kumar Sangakkara – Technically immaculate. Stacked peaks in both formats, monstrous accumulation with few dips.
- AB de Villiers – Innovation that looked inevitable; best strike‑rate‑average combo in the long white‑ball story.
- Sunil Gavaskar – Opened against dynastic pace without helmets; a technique carved from granite.
- Steve Smith – The modern Bradman echo; relentless weight of runs, unmatched series averages.
- Joe Root – Unending hunger; greatest English run‑maker in the longest form with modern subcontinental mastery.
- Allan Border – Dragged teams up by force of will; often carried the scorecard alone.
- Rahul Dravid – The Wall nickname undersold his scoring range; away colossus.
- Greg Chappell – Creamy drives, tactical intelligence; pillar of a golden batting school.
Greatest women batters (select list)
- Belinda Clark – ODI superstructure; pioneering run‑machine.
- Meg Lanning – The most complete modern captain‑batter package.
- Mithali Raj – Sheer ODI weight of runs and symmetry of technique.
- Suzie Bates – Longevity in both formats with top‑order control.
- Stafanie Taylor – Balance of timing and accumulated dominance.
Comparison corner: rivalries and head‑to‑head truths
Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam: who is the better all‑format batter?
- ODI: Kohli’s chase record is the greatest single batting skillset in limited‑overs cricket. He lines up targets, banks singles, and picks premium balls to boundary with nerve control in the final third. Babar’s ODI game is metronomic—safest path to 90 every time and a century threat almost by habit. Edge: Kohli in chases; overall ODI edge very narrow, Kohli for peak match‑winning impact, Babar for minimal downcycles.
- T20I: Kohli’s role as anchor in high‑pressure chases remains priceless; he wins knockout‑weight scenarios through risk‑timing and two‑shot overs. Babar anchors more often from the top but has refined power surges without chaos. Edge: Draw by role. For raw T20 innovation, others surpass both, but in pressure chases Kohli tilts the table.
- Test: Kohli’s best vintage remains superior in difficult conditions; Babar’s technique holds in the channel and he’s improved his leave game. Edge: Slight to Kohli at peak, near‑parity in present form when adjusted for venue mix.
Root vs Smith vs Williamson (and the quiet roar of Kane)
Smith bends the battle toward length. His leaving game is so persuasive bowlers drag short or straight. Then he feasts. Across long series he’s the safest bet for a mammoth average.
Root is the master of tempo. He plays like a metronome that learned to jazz—rotates until bowlers lose shape, then unfurls sweeps that puncture fields.
Williamson is serenity. He trusts his defense longer than any modern great, converts more often, and rarely gifts a play at the ball outside off early.
On global balance, Test order by impact over long spells goes Smith‑Root‑Williamson; by present conversion and poise in tough batting conditions, Williamson‑Root‑Smith. The gaps are thin.
Don Bradman vs modern greats
Take away the romance and keep the ratios. Bradman’s dominance over his peers is so far beyond the rest that even era adjustment leaves him alone. Modern bowlers rotate more, plans are deeper, video analysis exists. Still, the distance between Bradman and his era dwarfs the distance between current greats and theirs. That’s the only comparison that matters.
Suryakumar Yadav vs the field in T20I
SKY is the outlier of outliers. Most T20 batters pick a zone and hammer it. He picks a bowler’s length and sends it to your least defended cone—fine leg scoop on a back‑of‑a‑length ball at 140+, inside‑out loft over extra cover to a wide yorker, lap through third off a hard length. The next circle—Buttler, Head, Klaasen—are dominant in narrow lengths or phases. SKY’s brilliance is phase‑agnostic, length‑agnostic cricket that sometimes looks like cheating.
Kumar Sangakkara vs MS Dhoni (batting only)
As pure batters, Sangakkara has the mountain of averages and consistency; Dhoni has the finisher’s crown and the nerve of the last over. Over 50 overs, Sangakkara is your foundations and walls; Dhoni is the rooftop solar that keeps the lights on when the grid fails. In T20, Dhoni’s finishing brand overshadowed his middle‑overs pace but he adapted teams around a death‑overs heist plan. As batters, Sangakkara over the long haul; Dhoni when the house is on fire.
The stat edges that actually decide games
- Best batsman by average last three seasons (blended view)
Tests: Williamson and Smith stay above the line. Root keeps his floor high on away triggers and spin mastery. Labuschagne remains steady but his conversion is the differentiator.
ODIs: Babar and Kohli sit where high averages meet high chase impact. Gill promises the next great ODI decade with superior initial contact.
T20Is: SKY, Buttler, and Rizwan define the top slice; Klaasen’s rate shifts a match in 20 balls.
- Best away‑Test batsman in recent cycles
Joe Root’s subcontinental technique upgrade—a full sweep and reverse sweep battery—has unlocked away catalogs many greats never filled. Smith in England, Williamson in SENA, and Karunaratne quietly in South Africa and Australia stand out. Away giants are built on leave discipline; these names own the leave.
- Best batsman against spin
Klaasen’s down‑the‑ground rockets simplify options: straight is the highest percentage. Babar’s hallmark is the micro‑step adjustment and superb length reading. Root’s sweep family disorganizes fields; SKY’s premeditated options dare spinners to bowl their best ball twice.
- Most centuries in run chases (ODI)
Kohli holds the modern record for chase hundreds among active giants and is the best ODI accumulator when a target is on the board. He builds chases as equations, not epics.
- Best 4th‑innings Test batsmen
Players with quiet feet and iron wills top this: Williamson and Kohli for their leave and straight bat; Root for strike rotation under siege. Younis Khan deserves a permanent pin in this space; so does Graeme Smith for the sheer tonnage of difficult chases.
- Best T20I strike‑rate batters among regulars
Suryakumar Yadav is the crown jewel across 1,000‑run thresholds; Glenn Maxwell is the prototype of “strike‑rate is tempo,” while Phil Salt and Travis Head represent the new powerplay onslaught.
- Best ODI powerplay batters
Rohit Sharma and David Warner have owned balls 1–10 for a generation. Travis Head and Phil Salt have joined the violent club, converting width and hard lengths into early ruin for bowlers.
By country: who owns the batting landscape now
- India: Depth like no other—Kohli, Rohit, Gill, SKY, Jaiswal, Rahul—plus a domestic conveyor belt that turns teenage prodigies into international‑ready batters. India’s ODI and T20 batting ecosystems are unmatched.
- Australia: Test run‑banks of Smith, Labuschagne, Head with white‑ball detonators in Head, Maxwell, Warner. The spine is heavy and the hitting is mean.
- England: Root’s timeless production, Buttler’s white‑ball command, Brook’s ceiling. Power‑hitting depth in the domestic structure keeps the pipeline warm.
- Pakistan: Babar is the flagship, Rizwan the high‑floor T20 anchor, Imam the ODI glue, and a generation of left‑handed hitters rising in the T20 leagues.
- New Zealand: Williamson’s elegance, Mitchell’s dependability, and a culture that extracts 10% more from every batter.
Rising batters and the next wave
- Shubman Gill: ODI rhythm of a veteran, Test improvement curve steep, T20 gears are clicking.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal: Fearless intent suits all formats; if he can flatten the channel against world‑class seam consistently, the sky is open.
- Harry Brook: Boundary options so early in an innings it feels unfair; once the defense matures, the averages will follow.
- Abdullah Shafique: Presence at the crease and straight‑bat orthodoxy; the new‑ball read is already above his age grade.
- Dewald Brevis: Not yet a full international catalog, but the power map is alarming in the best way—down the ground, over extra, and into cow with equal ease.
Leagues and franchise form guides
- Best IPL batsman this season bracket: Virat Kohli’s consistency and Suryakumar’s ceiling define the top tier; Travis Head’s powerplay violence adds a new train of thought to the first six overs. Jos Buttler’s innings control remains a masterclass in calculating par on batting surfaces.
- Best PSL batsman: Babar Azam’s PSL volume with a high floor; Mohammad Rizwan’s accumulation and late bloom; Fakhar Zaman’s boundary bursts.
- Best BBL/CPL: Glenn Maxwell’s BBL influence is unmatched when fit; in the CPL, Nicholas Pooran’s strike‑rate integrity and ability to pierce the in‑field under pressure are model traits.
How ICC batting rankings are calculated (and how to use them)
ICC rankings use a rolling window with match context and opposition strength baked in. Players get points for runs scored, with bonuses for high scores against strong attacks and penalties for low scores in bowler‑friendly conditions. The system normalizes performance to an index that lets you compare across time. It’s robust for “form” and “consistency” snapshots. Where we adjust:
- We add extra value for pressure chases and fourth‑innings runs.
- We correct for role (openers vs middle order).
- We incorporate ball‑by‑ball control metrics where available.
Together, the ICC line and our adjustments help you answer both “world no 1 batsman” and “best batter in the world to win me a match today.”
What makes a good batting average today?
- Tests: A top‑class specialist parks himself north of the mid‑forties. Elite stays near or above fifty with away ballast. Openers can be a few points lower for the new‑ball tax.
- ODIs: High thirties with strike‑rate in the low to mid‑nineties is workable for anchors; elite moves into mid‑forties and beyond while still maintaining par strike‑rate. Modern top order pushes into the hundreds without forcing the issue.
- T20Is: Average is a volatile metric. A mid‑thirties average with a strike‑rate north of one‑fifty is elite. Role matters—finishers can average lower but must strike much higher.
Top 10 batters in the world today (all‑format, editorial index)
- Babar Azam – All‑format balance king: ODI fortress, T20I anchor, Test class intact.
- Virat Kohli – ODI chase god, resurgent Test craftsman, T20 chaser extraordinaire.
- Kane Williamson – Test and ODI north star; the art of leaving re‑taught to a generation.
- Joe Root – Away titan, spin tormentor, run‑making is his breathing.
- Steve Smith – When he decides, series become private exhibitions.
- Rohit Sharma – ODI opening shockwave, Test pull as a weapon, T20 still lethal.
- Suryakumar Yadav – T20I alien; in ODIs, improving gears; Tests a later project.
- Marnus Labuschagne – Glue in whites; bounce control A+, scores in streaks.
- Heinrich Klaasen – Middle‑overs nuke in ODIs and T20Is; spin‑hitting encyclopedia.
- Quinton de Kock – Protects the powerplay wicket like gold; fluent scoring still suffocates attacks.
World best batsman by hand and role
- Best left‑handed batsman: Kane Williamson in Tests, Travis Head in white‑ball shock value, Quinton de Kock for opener rhythm, and Laura Wolvaardt for the women’s game technique exemplar.
- Best right‑handed batsman: Virat Kohli’s ODI body of work remains the benchmark; Babar Azam’s textbook lines are the modern coaching tape; Suryakumar Yadav in T20I is a class of his own.
Who is the best young batsman today?
The jump from youth cricket to international is a canyon. The young batters who already look set across formats: Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal for India, Harry Brook for England, and Abdullah Shafique for Pakistan. Each has one signature: Gill’s on‑length cover drive, Jaiswal’s powerplay bravery, Brook’s middle‑over violence in Tests, Shafique’s leave discipline. Any of these can become the world’s best batsman over a long window if the away numbers climb.
Common questions, straight answers
- Who is no 1 batsman in the world right now?
- By our Form + Impact Index: Babar Azam overall; Williamson in Tests; Babar in ODIs; Suryakumar in T20Is.
- Official ICC lists move after every series; the leaders most frequently include the same names above. Use both views: ICC for standardized form, our index for match‑winning weight.
- Who is the best ODI/Test/T20 batsman today?
- ODI: Kohli in chases; Babar on baseline consistency. If you must pick one name, take Babar for the full set, Kohli if a chase defines the day.
- Test: Kane Williamson for conversion calm; Root for away breadth; Smith for attritional inevitability.
- T20: Suryakumar Yadav for dimension, Buttler for killing intent, Klaasen for middle‑overs artillery.
- Which country has the best batsmen currently?
India by sheer volume and variety, followed by Australia for Test‑white‑ball balance, and England for aggressive white‑ball innovation paired with Root’s red‑ball monolith.
- Who is the best women’s batsman in the world?
- ODI: Chamari Athapaththu for power‑plus‑weight from the top.
- T20I: Beth Mooney for chase control and strike‑rotation mastery.
Best batting strategies that separate great from very good
- The leave as a scoring shot: Smith and Williamson built empires on it. A ball not played is a bowler’s confidence chipped away.
- Singles as aggression: Kohli made the cricket world realize a single to deep midwicket matters more than a premeditated big hit if it keeps the ratio in your favor. The best batter in the world often looks boring for 40 minutes—and that’s when the game is dying for the opposition.
- Pre‑meditation with exit routes: Suryakumar Yadav’s trick isn’t guessing; it’s holding a base and a bail‑out option if the ball changes. Pooran and Klaasen emulate this in shorter bursts.
- Field reading as a dialogue: Williamson moves gaps like chess pieces. Root convinces captains to move a man, then scores where the man left. That’s higher‑order batting.
- Batting with the tail: Dravid and Williamson mastered farming the strike without panic, trusting the single early in overs and maximizing last‑ball risks. Tests change here.
A compact data table to summarize format leaders (editorial index)
| Format No.1 | Key strengths | Pressure index |
|---|---|---|
| Test: Kane Williamson | Conversion, discipline, late play | Highest in tough conditions |
| ODI: Babar Azam | Control, accumulation, low dot‑ball percentage | Very high in chases; steady in rebuilds |
| T20I: Suryakumar Yadav | Angle‑creation, death‑overs acceleration | Peak in overs 13–20 |
| Women’s ODI: Chamari Athapaththu | Power at the top, boundary bursts | High when setting targets |
| Women’s T20I: Beth Mooney | Dot‑ball minimization, chase geometry | Elite during par‑chase calculations |
The ever‑green debate: greatest batsmen vs best batsman now
“Greatest” and “best now” aren’t the same animal. Don Bradman is immovable at the all‑time summit for relative dominance. Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara are the twin peaks of modern classical, AB de Villiers and Viv Richards reinvented what batting could be. Those are museum pieces hung forever. “World no 1 batsman” is a living argument; it changes off a slim outside edge in a series decider. That is the joy. One word of caution when using any list—including this one: check for updates after big series, keep an eye on crowding at the top, and never assume form is a straight line. It rarely is.
A small glossary for readers crossing formats
- Control percentage: The share of balls on which a batter was “in control,” as judged by contact quality; higher is better.
- False‑shot percentage: Edges and misses; lower is better, contextualized for pace, bounce, and spin.
- Win Probability Added (WPA): How a batter’s innings moved the team’s chance of winning; preferred over raw runs in pressure analyses.
- Conversion rate: Hundreds per fifties; kingmakers in Tests.
- Phase metrics: Powerplay (1–6 in T20, 1–10 in ODI), middle overs, death overs; batters who win phases win matches.
Common variants you’ll see used correctly here
Best batsman in the world and best batter in the world mean the same thing; modern usage tends to use batter, historical conversations often say batsman. Top batsmen in the world, top 10 batters, number 1 batsman in the world, world best batsmen—these are all valid hooks into the same debate. We use them naturally, not for stuffing, because readers search in different tongues for the same urge: find me the truth.
What the data still misses (and why the eye test matters)
- Footwork under fatigue: Data captures outcome, not always the weight of the last session of the day. Some batters turn into statues, others keep their toes alive. The latter is priceless.
- Series narrative: A fifty against a rampant attack may be worth more than a hundred against a B‑side. Our model tries to price it, but the eye checks the receipt.
- Match‑ups: Klaasen vs high‑class legspin, Kohli vs left‑arm pace angling across, Smith vs high bounce—inside these duels are truths that raw averages can mask.
A final word on the women’s game
Best women’s ODI batter and best women’s T20I batter are no longer sidebars. Franchise leagues and packed calendars mean pacing, strike‑rate management, and power are rising together. Beth Mooney’s dot suppression, Laura Wolvaardt’s technique, and Chamari Athapaththu’s torque all show that women’s batting is in the sweet spot where craft meets muscle. If you’re building a best XI today, you can construct an opening pair, a middle‑order accumulator, and a death‑overs hitter without compromise. That’s new, and it’s glorious.
Tables for quick reference (rankings by format, editorial index)
Test – Top 10 (Name, Country, Why)
| Rank | Name | Country | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kane Williamson | NZ | Conversion, serenity, technique |
| 2 | Joe Root | Eng | Rotation, sweep suite, away colossus |
| 3 | Steve Smith | Aus | Leave mastery, attrition, length control |
| 4 | Virat Kohli | Ind | Channel judgment, big‑match temperament |
| 5 | Babar Azam | Pak | Classical method, spin control |
| 6 | Marnus Labuschagne | Aus | Concentration, bounce control |
| 7 | Daryl Mitchell | NZ | Engine room, tail shepherd |
| 8 | Harry Brook | Eng | Tempo breaker, boundary options |
| 9 | Dimuth Karunaratne | SL | New‑ball defuser, long innings |
| 10 | Rohit Sharma | Ind | Pull as weapon, session dominator |
ODI – Top 10
| Rank | Name | Country | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Babar Azam | Pak | Consistency and control |
| 2 | Virat Kohli | Ind | Chase architect |
| 3 | Rohit Sharma | Ind | Powerplay damage and conversion |
| 4 | Shubman Gill | Ind | Early read, elegant scoring |
| 5 | Quinton de Kock | SA | Flow and tempo |
| 6 | Kane Williamson | NZ | Error minimization |
| 7 | Heinrich Klaasen | SA | Spin demoralizer |
| 8 | David Warner | Aus | Early acceleration |
| 9 | Daryl Mitchell | NZ | Composure and rebuilding |
| 10 | Imam‑ul‑Haq | Pak | Pace management |
T20I – Top 10
| Rank | Name | Country | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suryakumar Yadav | Ind | 360‑degree hitting |
| 2 | Jos Buttler | Eng | Base, power, finish |
| 3 | Mohammad Rizwan | Pak | Anchor with intent |
| 4 | Glenn Maxwell | Aus | Angle creation |
| 5 | Travis Head | Aus | Hard‑length bully |
| 6 | Phil Salt | Eng | Simplified assault |
| 7 | Babar Azam | Pak | Anchor plus gear change |
| 8 | Nicholas Pooran | WI | Low‑trajectory power |
| 9 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | Ind | Fearless first six |
| 10 | Aiden Markram | SA | Middle‑overs control |
Women’s ODI – Top 10
| Rank | Name | Country | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chamari Athapaththu | SL | Power top‑order |
| 2 | Laura Wolvaardt | SA | Textbook mastery |
| 3 | Alyssa Healy | Aus | Early aggression |
| 4 | Smriti Mandhana | Ind | Off‑side elegance |
| 5 | Meg Lanning | Aus | Chase tempo |
| 6 | Ellyse Perry | Aus | Timeless technique |
| 7 | Nat Sciver‑Brunt | Eng | Power balance |
| 8 | Harmanpreet Kaur | Ind | Big‑game hitter |
| 9 | Amelia Kerr | NZ | Middle‑overs control |
| 10 | Heather Knight | Eng | Situational intelligence |
Women’s T20I – Top 10
| Rank | Name | Country | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beth Mooney | Aus | Chase geometry |
| 2 | Smriti Mandhana | Ind | Placement and pace |
| 3 | Alyssa Healy | Aus | Powerplay launch |
| 4 | Sophie Devine | NZ | Muscle with method |
| 5 | Harmanpreet Kaur | Ind | Death‑overs weapon |
| 6 | Shafali Verma | Ind | Long levers, high ceiling |
| 7 | Laura Wolvaardt | SA | Technique with new gears |
| 8 | Tahlia McGrath | Aus | Middle‑overs pace |
| 9 | Ashleigh Gardner | Aus | Rope clearer |
| 10 | Amelia Kerr | NZ | Smart angles |
SEO‑friendly clarity without stuffing
This page unifies world best batsman, best batsman in the world by format, world no 1 batsman, best batter in the world across men’s and women’s cricket, and greatest batsmen of all time. It includes comparison battles—Kohli vs Babar, Root vs Smith vs Williamson, Don Bradman vs modern greats—and stat shapes like best 4th‑innings Test batsmen, best ODI powerplay batsmen, and best strike‑rate among regular T20I players. It’s meant to be evergreen, refreshed after major series, with a methodology you can audit. That’s how you beat noise and honor the craft.
Closing thoughts
The beauty of cricket’s batting conversation is that the answer changes while the question stays perfect. One innings in difficult conditions can rewrite who wears the crown. “Worlds best batsman” is a headline; the truth is a mosaic of formats, roles, and phases. If you’ve read this far, you know the safe road: trust the ICC table for standardized form and combine it with a context‑aware lens that values chases, fourth‑innings steel, and away mastery. If you force me to choose in one line: Babar Azam holds the all‑format belt; Kane Williamson is the Test monk; Suryakumar Yadav owns T20I imagination; and Virat Kohli remains the most ruthless ODI chaser to lace up. The rest of the names are not far behind. A couple of sessions, a series, a tour—and we will be back here, arguing all over again, happily.