‘If Kane Williamson was Indian, he would be the greatest player in the world' : Michael Vaughan

[RedwoodOriginal]

I would argue that a man who averages fifty over a long career with run rate in the nineties - faster than Pietersen - is irreplaceable. England have never had his like. How many times has he stabilised the innings when the top two fail? He was a massive factor in the WC win.

Thing is I don't mean to knock Joe Root because I do believe he is a great player and undoubtedly he was integral in that World Cup win. But I just don't see him being as successful as he has been without those guys around him. Even when he had to stabilize an innings you knew he was followed by Morgan, Buttler and Stokes. And though Joe Root has averaged 56 during England's ODI resurgence which began on June 9, 2015, the other guys (with the exception of Roy) are not far behind. And they are all averaging mid 40s or on the edge of 50 during this period. Bairstow averages 50.1. Only difference is that they have strike-rates tipping on 100 or just going way past 100 like in the case of Buttler who has a SR of 122 during this period which is just insane.

For me those guys averaging 45+ and striking at what they are striking at are the single biggest reason England have been scoring totals of 400+ for fun.

When you look at a side like New Zealand there is no one in their side on the same level as Roy, Bairstow, Buttler, Morgan and Stokes (average and SR-wise). I doubt anyone even comes close. They have an anchor (Williamson) and another anchor (Taylor). Which for me makes Williamson and what he has been able to accomplish from the World Cup final to the No.1 ODI ranking all the more remarkable.

Nowhere was that more evident than the World Cup where he routinely carried the side, and won games on his own. That's the kind of brilliance that you can never fully understand by comparing Williamson's ODI career numbers with Root's ODI career numbers. Because it doesn't take into account how much Williamson has had to scratch and claw and how easy Root has it.

 

[TheNeutralist]

The comparison is stupid

T20s - Kohli is way better
ODIs - Kohli is being compared to Sachin, so comparison with Kane is ridiculous
Tests - The closest Kane comes. Kohli may be struggling for the past 2 years (of course less cricket played due to covid) but overall Kohli trumps Kane for consistent performances.

 

[Last Monetarist]

I guess 10% which CA or any board gets is paid by BCCI from IPL revenue model and not from player's IPL salary. Correct me if I am wrong.

Also do Australians pay taxes for money earned overseas? Asking because I am not aware about tax policies of Aus.

No, CA directly deducts 10% from the player's auction fee. It's been part of every Australian cricketer's domestic contract that CA is entitled to 10% of the IPL auction proceeds as a facilitation fee because the BCCI deals directly with a player's domestic board in order to keep agents out of the loop. This measure was introduced in 2010, and also confirmed recently by Chris Lynn when he was demanding that CA organize repatriation flights for every Australian cricketer stuck in India.

As far as I understand, Australians are obliged to pay taxes on worldwide income regardless of provenance. So Australian cricketers should be subject to the top line tax rate of 45% on income from the IPL.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Indian fans underestimating Dravid is common.

Most Runs for India Yearwise (In All Formats)

2001-Sachin
2002-Dravid
2003-Dravid
2004-Dravid
2005-Dravid
2006-Dravid
2007-Ganguly
2008-Sehwag
2009-Gambhir
2010-Sehwag
2011-Virat
2012-Virat
2013-Virat
2014-Virat
2015-Rahane
2016-Virat
2017-Virat
2018-Virat
2019-Virat

Funny you are counting cricket from 2001 onwards, basically excluding 1/2 of Sachin's career, the years he was outright #1 batsman.

 

[King_Kohli]

Funny you are counting cricket from 2001 onwards, basically excluding 1/2 of Sachin's career, the years he was outright #1 batsman.

I didn't say anything about Sachin, I am saying Dravid understated by most of Indian cricket fans on forums. Most of his innings which deserve laurels gone unnoticed.

Most Runs for India Year wise (In All Formats)
1990- Azharuddin
1991- Manjrekar
1992-Tendulkar
1993- Kambli
1994-Tendulkar
1995-Tendulkar
1996-Tendulkar
1997-Ganguly
1998-Tendulkar
1999-Dravid
2000-Tendulkar
2001-Sachin
2002-Dravid
2003-Dravid
2004-Dravid
2005-Dravid
2006-Dravid
2007-Ganguly
2008-Sehwag
2009-Gambhir
2010-Sehwag
2011-Virat
2012-Virat
2013-Virat
2014-Virat
2015-Rahane
2016-Virat
2017-Virat
2018-Virat
2019-Virat
2020-KL Rahul
2021 -R Pant

 

[street cricketer]

I love Dravid but he had his struggles against pace and bounce despite a few iconic innings like the one at Adelaide. He was a great player of swing bowling though.

Tendulkar didn't really have any particular weakness. If you wanted a batsman to salvage a test match from certain defeat to draw or even pull out a miraculous victory like the Kolkata miracle, Dravid (and Laxman) was your man. If you wanted a batsman to bat for your life but you didn't know who the bowlers and the conditions were, Tendulkar was your man as he could do in almost all conditions and against most bowlers while Dravid and even blokes like Lara and Ponting had a few countries where they didn't cover themselves in glory.

 

[Bhaijaan]

I didn't say anything about Sachin, I am saying Dravid understated by most of Indian cricket fans on forums. Most of his innings which deserve laurels gone unnoticed.

Most Runs for India Year wise (In All Formats)
1990- Azharuddin
1991- Manjrekar
1992-Tendulkar
1993- Kambli
1994-Tendulkar
1995-Tendulkar
1996-Tendulkar
1997-Ganguly
1998-Tendulkar
1999-Dravid
2000-Tendulkar
2001-Sachin
2002-Dravid
2003-Dravid
2004-Dravid
2005-Dravid
2006-Dravid
2007-Ganguly
2008-Sehwag
2009-Gambhir
2010-Sehwag
2011-Virat
2012-Virat
2013-Virat
2014-Virat
2015-Rahane
2016-Virat
2017-Virat
2018-Virat
2019-Virat
2020-KL Rahul
2021 -R Pant

It's delusional to claim that Dravid is underrated or under appreciated. He is rated for the player he was.

If anything, PP in particular has historically overrated Dravid only to put Sachin down in overall terms.

Dravid has a Bradmenisque run of form in 2002-2004, he was never the same batsman before or after that period besides a reliable supporting cast at the other end. He got multiple ceat Indian player of the year and an ICC player of the year award during his purple patch of 3 years amd became Indian captain in 2005 across formats. What more do people want to not say Dravid was less appreciated?