6- Joe Root (England)
You get the feeling the best is still to come for Joe Root. However, with the start to his test career it would have been hard not to have him representing England on this list. Root has played 69 tests, even though he is just 27 years of age. He has scored 5960 runs with an outstanding average of 52.28 and has 13 hundreds and 40 fifties. It would not be a surprise to see Joe Root finish his career as one of the top run scorers in test match history. The reason that Joe Root is England's classiest batsman comes down to his ability to play spin and perform in the subcontinent. Root has swept his way to an impressive batting average of 53.3 in test matches in India, 57.4 in the UAE, and a more modest 24.5 in Bangladesh. Its because of his ability to perform in all conditions that Root makes this list ahead of Kevin Pietersen.
5- AB De Villiers (South Africa
Better known for his twenty 20 exploits and explosive batting, its easy to forget AB De Villiers played 114 tests and scored an incredible 8765 runs in test cricket. De Villiers averaged 50.66 in test cricket and scored 22 hundreds and 46 fifties in his recently finished career. One of the most enjoyable to watch batsman in history, De Villiers had the ability to destroy an attack without playing any shots in anger. What needs to be commended was De Villiers ability to perform outside of South Africa, especially in the sub continent. He averaged 45.00 in India, 57.6 in Sri Lanka, and a very imprssive 116.5 in the UAE. This shows how classy and adaptable his game was, and why he deserves to be on this list.
Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news