Joe Root vs Virat Kohli since 2020: who has really been the better Test batter?

Quick answer: who has been the better Test batter since 2020?

Root, on the numbers. Since 2020, he's scored over 6,000 Test runs at an average past 54, with 22 hundreds. Kohli managed 2,028 runs at 30.72 in the same window before retiring from the format in May 2025. But raw output doesn't capture everything. Kohli's peak away performances, his captaincy legacy, and the sheer weight of expectation he carried still shape how this debate gets argued. Numbers say Root. Context complicates it.

 

Why compare Joe Root and Virat Kohli since 2020?

Both entered the 2020s as two of the "Fab Four," alongside Steve Smith and Kane Williamson, both past 30. What happened next split their careers in opposite directions, and that split is the whole story here.

Why 2020 marks a turning point in both careers

Root turned 30 in December 2020 and, statistically, got better. Kohli turned 32 that November and, statistically, fell off a cliff. Few five-year stretches in modern batting have diverged this hard between two players once considered equals.

Captaincy, form, and changing team roles

Root gave up England's Test captaincy in April 2022. Kohli stepped down in January 2022. Both transitions happened within months of each other, and both batters' post-captaincy paths look nothing alike.

 

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1. Overall Test numbers since 2020

Metric	Joe Root	Virat Kohli
Matches	69	39
Innings	~124	68
Runs	6,000+	2,028
Average	54+	30.72
Hundreds	22	3
Fifties	21	9
Highest score	262	164

Kohli retired from Test cricket in May 2025 after 123 matches and 9,230 career runs. These numbers are now final. Root is still playing, and still adding to his tally.

2. Who has performed better away from home?

SENA countries and Asia

Root has averaged in the mid-40s and higher across New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia through his career, finally breaking his Australian duck with a maiden Gabba hundred during the 2025-26 Ashes. He's also long been an outlier among English batters in Asia, averaging above 50 there, spin and all. Kohli's away average since 2020 sat at 31.38. His home average, just 29.92, was actually worse, a reversal of the pattern that once defined his dominance.

Home vs away comparison

	Root (career)	Kohli (since 2020)
Home average	56+	29.92
Away average	~47	31.38

 

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3. Who scores more against top bowling attacks?

Australia, England, India

Root's Gabba hundred aside, his Ashes record has been streaky rather than dominant. Kohli's 2018-19 series in Australia remains a career highlight, but that came before this window, and his Test returns in England since 2020 were thin. Root's tours to India have produced patchy returns against high-class spin, rarely a total collapse.

South Africa and New Zealand

Kohli's 2021-22 series in South Africa was one of his better efforts in this period. Root has stayed consistently strong against New Zealand, while Kohli played little Test cricket against them after 2020.

This is where most articles stop. You shouldn't.

 

4. Who has played more match-winning innings?

Hundreds in victories and fourth-innings performances

England's Bazball era under Stokes has produced far more wins than losses since 2022, and Root's hundreds have disproportionately come in winning causes. Neither batter built a reputation as a fourth-innings chase master in this window, a role that's belonged more to specialists like Stokes or Rishabh Pant.

Big-match contributions

Kohli's Perth century in November 2024, his first hundred since July 2023, arrived on the biggest stage available to him at that point, even as the series slipped away from India.

 

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5. Has captaincy changed their careers?

Virat after stepping down

Kohli's post-captaincy years, from January 2022 to his retirement in May 2025, were the toughest sustained stretch of his career. His average over his final 24 months sat at just 32.56, a number nobody would have predicted from the batter who averaged over 55 in 2019.

Root after leaving captaincy

Root's post-captaincy years read like a different career entirely: 787 runs in 2023, 1,556 in 2024, and no real dip into 2025 and 2026. Losing the leadership job didn't just free him up. It seemed to switch something on.

Captaincy weighed on Kohli. It liberated Root.

 

6. Who has been more consistent since 2020?

Conversion, ducks, and runs per innings

Root's 22 hundreds against 21 fifties since 2020 is a strong conversion rate for any era. Kohli's 3 hundreds against 9 fifties tells a story of a batter who kept getting starts and rarely turning them into something bigger, while picking up more single-digit dismissals than at any earlier stage of his career. Root's runs-per-innings figure sits comfortably above Kohli's, roughly double across the period.

Longest poor run

Kohli's stretch without a century, from mid-2023 to late 2024, is the longest drought of his career. Root has had quiet series, but nothing close to that length.

 

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7. Who performs better under pressure?

WTC matches and Ashes

Root has played more WTC-cycle Tests by volume, simply because England schedules more of them, and his returns have held up across both cycles. His Ashes numbers were solid rather than spectacular until the 2025-26 Gabba breakthrough.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy and ICC finals

Kohli's final BGT appearance, in the 2024-25 series India lost 3-1, closed out his career on a low note, despite that Perth century mid-series. He also played in India's WTC final losses in 2021 and 2023 without a major score. Root hasn't reached an ICC final in this window.

 

8. Advanced statistical comparison

Metric	Root	Kohli
Average vs pace (since 2020)	Solid, career-best territory	Mid-30s
Average vs spin (since 2020)	Career strength, especially in Asia	32.03
Hundred-to-fifty ratio	Roughly 1:1	Roughly 1:3

Granular splits like boundary percentage and balls-per-boundary aren't reliably published for this window, so they're left out rather than guessed at.

 

9. What do the numbers miss?

Team, conditions, and opposition quality

England's batting around Root has been more attacking under Stokes and Brendon McCullum, while Kohli batted through a more conservative Indian top order for much of this period. Root also plays roughly twice as many home Tests as Kohli did in this window, purely due to scheduling, and not every attack he faced carried the same threat as the pace battery India fields regularly.

Role and era context

Both batted at number four for most of this period, so that's not a major differentiator. What is: Kohli's slump coincided with a broader dip across the Fab Four barring Root. Smith and Williamson also came down from their peaks, just not as steeply.

 

Expert opinions

Michael Vaughan sparked debate in 2026 by naming Root over Kohli when asked who's more watchable in full flow. Nasser Hussain has long argued Root's technique outside off stump is built for exactly these tougher years. Ravi Shastri, who coached Kohli through India's most dominant overseas stretch, defends his legacy as bigger than a five-year dip. Ponting has pointed to struggles against high pace as the crack that opened up in Kohli's game after 2020. Use these views to frame the debate, not settle it.

 

Key statistics that decide the debate

Metric	Root	Kohli
Runs since 2020	6,000+	2,028
Average since 2020	54+	30.72
Hundreds since 2020	22	3
Career Test average	~51	46.85 (final)

 

What other modern batters can learn from Root and Kohli

Root adjusted his game as bowlers targeted him; Kohli, for a long stretch, didn't. Small flaws against high pace, once hidden by supreme form, get exposed over time. Both stayed fit, proof that longevity alone doesn't guarantee runs. Root's response to losing the captaincy shows how much freedom can matter. Batters who keep reinventing their method tend to age better than those who don't.

Key takeaways

Root leads in aggregate output, by a wide margin. Kohli remains one of the toughest batters in challenging conditions, at least in memory, if not in this period's numbers. Captaincy affected both players differently, freeing one and burdening the other. Context matters as much as career totals. The answer depends on what you value: volume, consistency, or impact.

FAQs

Who has scored more Test runs since 2020?

Joe Root, by a large margin, over 6,000 to Kohli's 2,028.

Who has the better Test average since 2020?

Root, at over 54 compared to Kohli's 30.72.

Who has more centuries since 2020?

Root, with 22 hundreds to Kohli's 3.

Has Joe Root been better than Virat Kohli in Test cricket?

Statistically since 2020, yes. Across full careers, it's closer, with Kohli's peak years in the mid-2010s among the best any modern batter has produced.

Who has performed better away from home?

Root, especially after his 2025-26 Ashes hundred in Australia closed his last major away gap.

 

Final verdict

Since 2020, Joe Root has produced stronger overall Test numbers and greater consistency, while Virat Kohli has remained a decisive performer in several high-pressure moments, even as his output declined. If the debate is purely statistical, Root holds the edge. If it's about influence in defining matches and leadership during a transition period, Kohli's case remains compelling. The answer depends on whether you value sustained production or broader impact.