Dinesh Karthik named his top five all-format batters in world cricket on Sky Cricket: Shubman Gill, Travis Head, Harry Brook, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rachin Ravindra.
“If you put me on the spot and ask me, I would say Shubman Gill is there. I would definitely say Travis Head, he is there as well, and you have to say Harry Brook now, that goes without saying.”
Dinesh Karthik, Sky Cricket, August 2026
The current best across formats? Dinesh Karthik has his top 5 (via Sky Sports)
Who makes your list? pic.twitter.com/6NvoXZXljA
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) August 29, 2026
No Virat Kohli. No Rohit Sharma. No Joe Root or Steve Smith. Karthik’s list belongs entirely to the next generation.
The five names carry weight. Brook became the ICC’s No.1 ranked Test batter in 2026, overtaking Root. He also plays T20 internationals for England. Karthik called him “an anomaly” because his tempo stays consistent across formats. Most batters adjust between red and white ball cricket. Brook does not.
Head has been Australia’s most impactful batter since the 2023 ODI World Cup final. He plays all three formats and performs in high-pressure moments regardless of the ball colour. Gill captains India in Tests and ODIs, averaging over 40 in both formats. Ravindra plays all three formats for New Zealand, a rare commitment from a player whose breakout came at the 2023 ODI World Cup and whose form has held since.
Then comes the contradiction.
“And the fourth one would be a toss-up if we had to ask for a fourth, between Rachin Ravindra and Yashasvi Jaiswal, even though Yashaswi doesn’t play T20 cricket, nor does Shubman Gill play T20 cricket for India.”
Dinesh Karthik, Sky Cricket, August 2026
Karthik acknowledged the problem inside his own answer. Two of his five all-format picks do not play T20 internationals for their country. The BCCI directed Gill to focus on Tests and ODIs. Jaiswal was left out of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad entirely. Their boards decided they are not all-format players. Karthik decided they are.
That gap between board selection and pundit assessment is the real story. Karthik is not wrong about the talent. Gill and Jaiswal have the skill to dominate T20 cricket. But “all-format” is not a talent category. It is a selection reality. A batter who does not get picked in a format cannot be measured in it.
The only player on the list who genuinely plays all three formats at international level and performs in all three is Ravindra. Head plays all three for Australia. Brook plays Tests and T20Is. Gill and Jaiswal play Tests and ODIs. The list fractures the moment you apply the definition it claims to represent.
Insider Read
Karthik played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs, and 60 T20Is across a 20-year international career. He batted differently in each format. He watched the demands of Test cricket and T20 cricket pull further apart with every passing season. When he says the all-format batter is disappearing, it is not analysis. It is testimony.
On the RCB Podcast, he put it plainly: “What it takes to do well in T20 is the complete polar opposite skills compared to what is required to do well in Test cricket.” That is why he called Brook an anomaly. Brook’s ability to maintain the same tempo across formats defies a trend Karthik experienced firsthand. Most batters cannot do it. The ones who could, like Kohli, are “one for the folklore.” The rest have to choose.
What Karthik’s List Actually Measures
This is not a list of the five best all-format batters. It is a list of five batters Karthik believes have the talent to dominate across formats. The distinction matters. Talent and opportunity are not the same thing. Gill may have the game for T20 internationals. India’s selectors decided he does not need to play them. Jaiswal may be devastating in the shortest format. The BCCI chose others.
Karthik’s list measures potential, not performance across all formats. It is aspirational. And that aspiration itself tells you something: the pool of genuine all-format players has shrunk so far that even a list of five requires two players who do not meet the criteria.
The list says more about where cricket is heading than about five batters.
Also Read:
