After Ben Duckett’s amazing century in the Leeds Test against India, which helped England chase down a 371-run goal in the fourth innings, Michael Vaughan praised the southpaw as the best all-format cricketer in the world right now. Duckett averages 43.68, 49, and 29.28 in Tests, One-Day Internationals, and Twenty20 Internationals, respectively. He has performed admirably for England across all three formats in recent years.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra praised Duckett’s versatility as a hitter across formats, but pointed out that the Farnborough native has yet to play Test cricket in Australia and has made only a few outings in South Africa.
While Ben Duckett scored a century on England’s Test tour of India in 2024, Chopra was unimpressed with his overall performance in the cricket-crazed country.
“I agree that he stands out among the current players who compete in all three formats. His stats over the last two years show that he has performed admirably in all three forms. But there is a catch,” Chopra explained on his YouTube channel.
“He hasn’t travelled to Australia to play test cricket. He only played three innings in South Africa. “His performance in India was quite limited,” he said.
Instead, Chopra named Travis Head as someone who has delivered outstanding performances across formats in recent years, particularly in high-pressure matches such as the World Test Championship (WTC) and the ODI World Cup finals in 2023.
“Perhaps he is good in Pakistan, but he hasn’t performed well elsewhere. It is not a simple, clear story. He has been effective in all formats during the last two years. You should look at Travis Head; he has also had a great couple of years,” Chopra remarked.
“He has a tendency for sticking out in important games. Consider the 2023 WTC final and the 2023 ODI World Cup finale. When you do man-to-man marking, the stats for both are the same. “In my opinion, Travis Head is slightly ahead of him,” he continued.
For ‘Bazball’, there is ‘Jaisball’. Aakash Chopra
Chopra also included Yashasvi Jaiswal in the conversation about the best all-around player. The cricketer-turned-commentator believes the Mumbai batsman has the potential to be a top all-format performer once he accumulates more ODI appearances.
“Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is capable of playing all three forms, has yet to play an ODI. “He hasn’t had much of an opportunity in T20Is,” Chopra added.
“As he plays all three formats, he is one player who has the potential to threaten the hegemony. “For ‘Bazball’, there is ‘Jaisball’,” he added.
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