Babar Azam versus Lokesh Rahul

[MHN1293]

Babar is a limited odi batsman, he won't find a settled place in our odi XI, Rahul strikes at 90 and still we don't find him aggressive enough, just wonder how Babar will survive

Babar strikes at 88 and averages more than rahul.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Babar strikes at 88 and averages more than rahul.

Yeah but how will that help, he can't bat at 3 coz of Kohli and at no. 4 strike rate matters more.
Combine this with the fact that he does not have half the shot making ability of Rahul and you will get what i mean

 

[MHN1293]

Not to mention rahuls poor record against all top teams besides nz.

 

[Ab Fan]

Babar strikes at 88 and averages more than rahul.

At this point, Babar is comfortably ahead because not just the average but his runs tally is also much higher.

But KL has hit his peak over last couple of years and is expected to do even better in the coming few years also in ODIs.

At the end, it will be the result which matters but given that they still have many years of cricket left, you may look at their skills and KL is clearly far more versatile than Babar.

 

[Ab Fan]

Not to mention rahuls poor record against all top teams besides nz.

He averages 39 @ S/R 106 vs Australia and vs South Africa, he played only one ODI where he got 26 runs

 

[Mobashir]

Actually every Babar innings is like this only.
Can you show me one hundred by him while setting a target which came at a good clip.?

The difference here is that Kohli has a large body of work, where he has scored 100s in 50 and 60 balls too including striking at 140 in t20is.

So many years I am hearing about these two hundreds by Kohli, nothing else to show? And they were not setting a target.
Disucssion is about ODI's here, why bring in T20I's?

 

[Mamoon]

You should normally be critisizing Rahul for the selfish innings he played yesterday but instead you come up with these kind of remarks.
It's kind of Imam ul Haq is better than Rohit Sharma, play them in the same team and you will see, fully knowing they are never playing for the same team.
Your main argument is "if" in every thread.

The fact that you are comparing Babar-Rahul comparison with Imam-Rohit shows how delusional Pakistani fans are.

Rohit is arguably the greatest ODI opener of all time and a fantastic Test player who has been criminally underutilized by India as a Test opener.

Imam is just a good young opener for Pakistan’s poor standards.

No how matter how hard you try to prove that Babar is in a different league to the likes of Rahul etc. and in the league of Kohli, Rohit etc., the reality is that he isn’t.

 

[Mobashir]

The fact that you are comparing Babar-Rahul comparison with Imam-Rohit shows how delusional Pakistani fans are.

Rohit is arguably the greatest ODI opener of all time and a fantastic Test player who has been criminally underutilized by India as a Test opener.

Imam is just a good young opener for Pakistan’s poor standards.

No how matter how hard you try to prove that Babar is in a different league to the likes of Rahul etc. and in the league of Kohli, Rohit etc., the reality is that he isn’t.

I wasn't comparing Imam with Rohit was just showing you that with "if" we can say anything...
Rohit isn't even close to being the best opener ever, he isn't even the best current opener.
His inability to score in the powerplay just kills the momentum. You can't be the best when you are the slowest opener going around in the power play.

 

[Mamoon]

I wasn't comparing Imam with Rohit was just showing you that with "if" we can say anything...
Rohit isn't even close to being the best opener ever, he isn't even the best current opener.
His inability to score in the powerplay just kills the momentum. You can't be the best when you are the slowest opener going around in the power play.

Comparing Rohit and Imam is not a what if scenario. It is a completely moronic comparison from every single angle.

Rohit is a phenomenal player whose ability to accelerate is matched by few players in history. The fact that he has 3 double hundreds including a 250+ and 29 hundreds (and counting) makes him a GOAT ODI opener and can be compared to Tendulkar only.

I am not sure but I think he also has the most 150+ scores in ODI cricket, or at least he is quite close to the record.

He will end up with the third most ODI hundreds in history after Kohli and Tendulkar and nitpicking over his PP performance does nothing to his gigantic legacy.

 

[Mobashir]

Comparing Rohit and Imam is not a what if scenario. It is a completely moronic comparison from every single angle.

Rohit is a phenomenal player whose ability to accelerate is matched by few players in history. The fact that he has 3 double hundreds including a 250+ and 29 hundreds (and counting) makes him a GOAT ODI opener and can be compared to Tendulkar only.

I am not sure but I think he also has the most 150+ scores in ODI cricket, or at least he is quite close to the record.

He will end up with the third most ODI hundreds in history after Kohli and Tendulkar and nitpicking over his PP performance does nothing to his gigantic legacy.

You don't become the best by scoring double hundreds in useless matches. Rohit is formidable opener but he is just too slow compared to the likes of Bairstow. Roy-Bairstow as an opening pair average 16 more than Dhawan-Rohit and the strike rate difference is even higher. They win you the match in the first 10/20 overs most of the time.

The challenge of the modern era (post 2010) isn't scoring run, it's all about scoring quick runs. Rohit still has to first set himslef and score his usual 65 ball 50 before accelerating.

 

[BreadPakoda]

A series decider against Australia is a useless match.

 

[Mamoon]

You don't become the best by scoring double hundreds in useless matches. Rohit is formidable opener but he is just too slow compared to the likes of Bairstow. Roy-Bairstow as an opening pair average 16 more than Dhawan-Rohit and the strike rate difference is even higher. They win you the match in the first 10/20 overs most of the time.

The challenge of the modern era (post 2010) isn't scoring run, it's all about scoring quick runs. Rohit still has to first set himslef and score his usual 65 ball 50 before accelerating.

Rohit is fully capable of batting like Bairstow and Roy. He is notches above them in ability and skill.

The reason why he starts slowly is because India has been a top-heavy team over the last few years and they struggle when their top 3 do not score big and bat through.

However, with the emergence of Pant, Rahul, Pandya etc. in the middle-order, India will now look to shift its approach and take more risks in the PP overs.

India’s lineup is even more powerful than England’s. They only need a new tactical approach.

 

[Mobashir]

Rohit is fully capable of batting like Bairstow and Roy. He is notches above them in ability and skill.

The reason why he starts slowly is because India has been a top-heavy team over the last few years and they struggle when their top 3 do not score big and bat through.

However, with the emergence of Pant, Rahul, Pandya etc. in the middle-order, India will now look to shift its approach and take more risks in the PP overs.

India’s lineup is even more powerful than England’s. They only need a new tactical approach.

No he isn't capable of it. Bairstown is one of the most attacking openers in the history while Rohit is one of the slowest going around, that has not only to do with tactics.

Even in this series, Rohit, Dhawan, Kohli and Rahul were happy to bat at there usual pace and bring the team to 300/330.
We are at a time that loosing Rahul and Kohli's wicket was a blessing for them.

End of the discussion for me.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

No he isn't capable of it. Bairstown is one of the most attacking openers in the history while Rohit is one of the slowest going around, that has not only to do with tactics.

Even in this series, Rohit, Dhawan, Kohli and Rahul were happy to bat at there usual pace and bring the team to 300/330.
We are at a time that loosing Rahul and Kohli's wicket was a blessing for them.

End of the discussion for me.

Rohit has a 35 ball hundred, he is perfectly capable of doing what Bairstow does, he can do even better.

Secondly what about one Babar century where runs came at a good clip?
Also did you watch the t20 series, or did you skip it? Who was the MOTS

 

[Mobashir]

Rohit has a 35 ball hundred, he is perfectly capable of doing what Bairstow does, he can do even better.

Secondly what about one Babar century where runs came at a good clip?
Also did you watch the t20 series, or did you skip it? Who was the MOTS

Man you go in every direction, I can't.

What's your topic? What do you want to discuss?
Babar is very fine number 3 but he isn't perfect. His SR has limitations too.
The problem with indians fans and Mamoon is they can't hear anything negative about indian players. Rohit has limitations. Rohit can't bat at the same SR as Bairstow in the power play on a regular basis. Believe me, if he had the choice between a 65 ball fifty and 40 ball fifty he would also choose the 40 one.

Mamoon is here just to do some propaganda to rate indian players. Otherwise he would have never said Krunal Pandya is a better than Imad Wasim.

 

[Mamoon]

No he isn't capable of it. Bairstown is one of the most attacking openers in the history while Rohit is one of the slowest going around, that has not only to do with tactics.

Even in this series, Rohit, Dhawan, Kohli and Rahul were happy to bat at there usual pace and bring the team to 300/330.
We are at a time that loosing Rahul and Kohli's wicket was a blessing for them.

End of the discussion for me.

It is the end of discussion for you but perhaps it should be for me as well. I mean there is no room for debate left when someone is delusional to the point where he ends up arguing that Bairstow and Roy have more ability and skill than Rohit. )

 

[MHN1293]

It is the end of discussion for you but perhaps it should be for me as well. I mean there is no room for debate left when someone is delusional to the point where he ends up arguing that Bairstow and Roy have more ability and skill than Rohit. )

Yes bairstrow and roy have more ability to blast off from the get go then rohit.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Man you go in every direction, I can't.

What's your topic? What do you want to discuss?
Babar is very fine number 3 but he isn't perfect. His SR has limitations too.
The problem with indians fans and Mamoon is they can't hear anything negative about indian players. Rohit has limitations. Rohit can't bat at the same SR as Bairstow in the power play on a regular basis. Believe me, if he had the choice between a 65 ball fifty and 40 ball fifty he would also choose the 40 one.

Mamoon is here just to do some propaganda to rate indian players. Otherwise he would have never said Krunal Pandya is a better than Imad Wasim.

Rohit's slow approach in the powerplay is costing us now bcoz the middle order is perfectly capable of scoring runs at good pace, earlier we used to have a middle order of Rayudu, Jadhav, Dhoni, Shankar so his approach was completely justified.
This is the first series where our middle order has shown their ability, so fully expect Rohit,Kohli to increase their str rate now

As for Rohit's ability lol, Rohit has more ability in his fingernail then these Roys and Bairstows. He is an insanely gifted cricketer, the problem is mentality(approach) not ability.

 

[Mobashir]

Rohit's slow approach in the powerplay is costing us now bcoz the middle order is perfectly capable of scoring runs at good pace, earlier we used to have a middle order of Rayudu, Jadhav, Dhoni, Shankar so his approach was completely justified.
This is the first series where our middle order has shown their ability, so fully expect Rohit,Kohli to increase their str rate now

As for Rohit's ability lol, Rohit has more ability in his fingernail then these Roys and Bairstows. He is an insanely gifted cricketer, the problem is mentality(approach) not ability.

As an overall batsman Rohit has a lot more ability than Roy who is just a LOI, flat track basher. He also may have more ability than Bairstow. Rohit is capable of hitting some incredible shots against all kind of bowlers. I have always backed him as a batsman since 2007 (IPL 1).
That doesn't mean he is the best at everything. Bairstow is better at playing at a better SR in the strat of an innings. This is one thing Rohit is actually not good at it.

 

[Rajdeep]

This rubbish thread is still going on. The new batch of youngsters besides Babar and Labuschagne are nothing special, which is why we get such desperate comparisons.

Both Babar and Labu are 27 years old...so they cant be considered youngsters any longer. Likes of Subhman Gill, Haidar Ali or Will Pucovski are youngsters in real sense.

Below is the classification:

Teenage senations - 16-19 years
Youngsta beauties - 20-25 years
Peak years - 26 - 32 years
Veterans - 32 - 36 years
Burdens - 37+

 

[OMB]

Thread is about BA vs KLR. Not Rohit Bairstow

 

[UzmanBeast]

Babar vs Rahul?

Let's be honest, what have both achieved at the moment across all formats? Babar has had more opportunities, and when you look at the white-ball stats, you see a player who is really playing well. You look at the rankings, and he's second in ODI and in the top 5 in T20I. So what you see is a player who is really doing well, but he isn't having world-class performances. In test matches, he is still uncertain, and perhaps that is because he doesn't have the patience to continue overnight, or it might be because of a white-ball mindset in test matches.

KL Rahul, someone with presumably a lot of talent, has done well in his international career as well. He is a utility player as he keeps wickets and bats well down the order. His white ball stats are also quite good, but are they world class? No, they aren't. He also is at a good position in the batting rankings. In tests, he is also not a reliable batting option, as seen from his batting stats.

So Babar is undoubtedly the best batsman in the Pakistan National Team, whereas Rahul is far behind the likes of Kohli and Rohit, who are in a league of their own.

Babar's batting average in ODI cricket is quite high, and he has shown performances in the format. He bats at 3, and strikes at about 87.

KL Rahul's batting position changes quite frequently. He is sometimes asked to open, sometimes pushed deep in the middle order, and sometimes doesn't even feature at all. However, he does well to make performances when it matters.

As far as shot selection goes, KL Rahul has more shots to offer, and he has power. For someone with the ability to smack a cricket ball, it is criminal that he doesn't continue punishing oppositions after a flyer of a start. This trend was seen in the IPL, where he'd get to his 50 or 40, and then the scoring rate would drop and drop until it reached a SR of 130 and he'd get out. KL Rahul has the type of shot selection which allows him to hit sixes when he connects the ball nicely.

On the other hand, someone like Babar relies more on placement and timing the ball along the ground. His off-side game is excellent, as he has a variety of shots, but his leg side game could be improved. Apart from the flick, front-foot pull, and on-drive, I haven't seen him target the leg side at all. A right hander should easily be able to punish players who bowl on the leg side, and Babar needs to develop leg-side shots. He relies on getting his runs with minimum risk, but nowadays, risks need to be taken for more reward.

In the end, it comes down to the type of player you like to watch. Personally, Babar is more orthodox in his batting approach which is why I like watching him, but that does not downplay the class of KL Rahul.

Both can improve (Babar on the leg-side, KL perhaps on his temperament and shots straight down the ground.).

Both are good players, and can become better, and that's all I think there is to it.

 

[MHN1293]

Amazing

If only rahul was playing in the pakistani team today his 7 off 15 would have overshadowed babar and made imam proud.

 

[Rana]

Rahul’s 7 off 15 is worth Babar’s 700 off 750 balls

This is because Rahul is Indian and the ceiling for Indian batsmen is much higher, and so are their standards!

 

[Usman Chadda]

Both Babar and Labu are 27 years old...so they cant be considered youngsters any longer. Likes of Subhman Gill, Haidar Ali or Will Pucovski are youngsters in real sense.

Below is the classification:

Teenage senations - 16-19 years
Youngsta beauties - 20-25 years
Peak years - 26 - 32 years
Veterans - 32 - 36 years
Burdens - 37+

You know what I mean. The next generation is headlined by Babar and Labuschagne, no other player comes close no matter how hard everyone tries to push the likes of Rahul, Hope, Markram etc

 

[Slim]

Indians showing their fangs when they deep inside know that Rahul is no match to Babar.

 

[Ab Fan]

KL needs to get his act right because he has potential to take his strike rate to 100. He should not look to become like MS Dhoni of 2015-19 who was having strike rate of 85 at no.5.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

KL needs to get his act right because he has potential to take his strike rate to 100. He should not look to become like MS Dhoni of 2015-19 who was having strike rate of 85 at no.5.

His mindset is beyond messed up.

Its better he gets out cheaply so he can rectify this issue.

Went from being our most impactful batsman to being the most useless.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Babar nearing his century against South Africa

 

[MHN1293]

Babar nearing his century against South Africa

Centuries against all top team barring india is soon to be for babar.

 

[Mean&Green]

Like I’ve always said you can come back to this thread everytime any year any day kl does not deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as.

BABAR AZAM

 

[Local.Dada]

Rahul can play innings like this with sr of 80, 90 on a good day in his sleep. Look Babar is a terrific bat and overall ahead of Rahul but expectation from Rahul is to start hitting a sr of 110 in odis and 150+ in T20. If it’s a numbers game and consolidation trust me Rahul can race ahead of quiet a few players.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

100 against South Africa in South Africa.

 

[Mean&Green]

Lol tell him to stop getting out on full tosses from pie chuckers first like Livingstone

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Rahul can play innings like this with sr of 80, 90 on a good day in his sleep. Look Babar is a terrific bat and overall ahead of Rahul but expectation from Rahul is to start hitting a sr of 110 in odis and 150+ in T20. If it’s a numbers game and consolidation trust me Rahul can race ahead of quiet a few players.

In a numbers game Babar is comfortably ahead of KL Rahul in all formats.

 

[Local.Dada]

In a numbers game Babar is comfortably ahead of KL Rahul in all formats.

True no dispute there as , I will give you that.
Congratulations.

 

[Rana]

Whilst a soft dismissal, that was still a great knock by Babar Azam.

 

[Rana]

So Babar just murdered a South African bowling attack consisting of Rabada, Nortje, Ngidi and Shamsi whilst Rahul was doing his Adhan celebration after smashing Sam Curran, Ben Stokes and Tom curran....

 

[Slim]

What a gun player, Babar is. Its a joke that hes being compared to Rahul by wannabe indians and some indians. Always took them for bad comics.

 

[Rana]

KL Rahul is a better batsman than Babar in all formats. Play them in the same team and the former will outshine the latter more often than not.

Tell us more..

 

[Slim]

Rahul can play innings like this with sr of 80, 90 on a good day in his sleep. Look Babar is a terrific bat and overall ahead of Rahul but expectation from Rahul is to start hitting a sr of 110 in odis and 150+ in T20. If it’s a numbers game and consolidation trust me Rahul can race ahead of quiet a few players.

You expect a lot from a weak minded player like Rahul and overhype him.

 

[Mesozoic]

The fact that he's being compared to the likes of Rahul and Iyer just shows how insecure Pak fans are with his abilities.

Chin up guys! He's a far far better player now...

 

[Mamoon]

Tell us more..

Tell what? The fact that our fans are bumping a dozen threads after a substandard innings like this says it all.

It was a soft innings as usual and he lost focus after getting his ton and threw it away in typically soft fashion.

This is why he will never be comparable to Kohli and Rohit. He lacks the ruthlessness. He is basically Pakistan’s Amla.

But I guess our standards are so embarrassingly low that we cannot stop doing bhangra when a batsman of ours scores 103.

 

[Rana]

Tell what? The fact that our fans are bumping a dozen threads after a substandard innings like this says it all.

It was a soft innings as usual and he lost focus after getting his ton and threw it away in typically soft fashion.

This is why he will never be comparable to Kohli and Rohit. He lacks the ruthlessness. He is basically Pakistan’s Amla.

But I guess our standards are so embarrassingly low that we cannot stop doing bhangra when a batsman of ours scores 103.

Oh ok. Scoring second innings runs against Rabada and Nortje is substandard now. Maybe also the bad omen of coach Boucher also contributed in Babar’s substandard innings?

 

[Ab Fan]

Never mind.

But with KL, there is always a comeback. This thread will go down as one of the ATG threads. Just wait for the climax.

 

[TeamPak95]

Not gonna lie it was infuriating when Babar got out literally after bringing up his century. It was a vital innings in context of the overall chase as it laid the foundation, along with Imam's 70-odd, and it was an innings of class, doing so against the likes of Rabada-Ngidi-Nortje, but Babar really needed to stick around towards the ending phase of the chase as it would've been a much calmer task had he got out then. All in all, great innings but he needs to stamp his authority with his batting here.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Tell what? The fact that our fans are bumping a dozen threads after a substandard innings like this says it all.

It was a soft innings as usual and he lost focus after getting his ton and threw it away in typically soft fashion.

This is why he will never be comparable to Kohli and Rohit. He lacks the ruthlessness. He is basically Pakistan’s Amla.

But I guess our standards are so embarrassingly low that we cannot stop doing bhangra when a batsman of ours scores 103.

At least your fans are doing bhangra after a century we have some fans who will start doing their bhangra after a soft dismissal of their favorite player scoring just 25 from 20 balls. They will also not forget to remind others that it was a pretty good inning under the circumstances. Most of your fans were also criticising Babar for not finishing the game like Kohli. Babar is comfortably better than KL Rahul at the moment but that doesn't mean KL is bad though.

 

[Mobashir]

Tell what? The fact that our fans are bumping a dozen threads after a substandard innings like this says it all.

It was a soft innings as usual and he lost focus after getting his ton and threw it away in typically soft fashion.

This is why he will never be comparable to Kohli and Rohit. He lacks the ruthlessness. He is basically Pakistan’s Amla.

But I guess our standards are so embarrassingly low that we cannot stop doing bhangra when a batsman of ours scores 103.

That us substandard but Kohli s loosing 90 in Australia was a good to very good innings.

Just doing anti Pakistan propaganda.

 

[Mamoon]

That us substandard but Kohli s loosing 90 in Australia was a good to very good innings.

Just doing anti Pakistan propaganda.

If he had shown the capacity to play the type of knocks that Kohli has, he won’t be criticized.

 

[Slim]

Tell what? The fact that our fans are bumping a dozen threads after a substandard innings like this says it all.

It was a soft innings as usual and he lost focus after getting his ton and threw it away in typically soft fashion.

This is why he will never be comparable to Kohli and Rohit. He lacks the ruthlessness. He is basically Pakistan’s Amla.

But I guess our standards are so embarrassingly low that we cannot stop doing bhangra when a batsman of ours scores 103.

So scoring against the same team that beat Australia last year let alone having one of the best bowlers in the world is substandard? Your hypocrisy is disgusting.

 

[Hasan123]

Babar is certainly better right now. But I would love to have seen how KL Rahul would have turned out had he gotten as long a run in all formats in a fixed position like Babar. India have moved him around and dropped a lot.

 

[CricketZ]

Babar just scored a match loosing slow 50 against SA C attack.. Meanwhile KL Rahul...

 

[BreadPakoda]

Another 50 for Babar. The guy is a run machine. Teams need better plans to stop this man.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Babar just scored a match loosing slow 50 against SA C attack.. Meanwhile KL Rahul...

KL Rahul what?

 

[Hasan123]

KL Rahul what?

91 off 50 balls against an attack that has Chris Morris and Mustafizur.

 

[jusarrived]

KL Rahul what?

Scoring at a twice the SR against a attack twice as the good as the one Babar was struggling against.
Before you open your mouth, he's does the same in international cricket too .

 

[Ab Fan]

KL Rahul was always a better T20 batsman than Babar. But T20 counts about 10%.

ODIs- 30% and Tests- 60%

 

[Mamoon]

Imagine the bhangra in this thread if KL Rahul played this innings against this attack on this pitch.

 

[Hasan123]

Let's be honest Babar can't accelerate like KL. You can say Babar is better that is fine. But KL is much better at accelerating.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Scoring at a twice the SR against a attack twice as the good as the one Babar was struggling against.
Before you open your mouth, he's does the same in international cricket too .

So he is back to being his best in IPL whereas he was struggling against England recently. Not sure if its the quality of cricket in IPL or something else? I do like KL Rahul though and want him to be our wicketkeeper batsman in LOIs.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Let's be honest Babar can't accelerate like KL. You can say Babar is better that is fine. But KL is much better at accelerating.

Are you talking about acceleration in IPL or International Cricket?

 

[rhony]

KL Rahul was always a better T20 batsman than Babar. But T20 counts about 10%.

ODIs- 30% and Tests- 60%

He is but he's not as consistent. He gets into a roll bothways. The flops seem mega flops and the hits, superhits. This is the guy that can win the T20 WC for India. He can also destroy the chances by playing the Rahane type innings in the last WC SF.

I remember Rahul when he was playing for SRH. He was an accumulator and was totally out of place in T20s. But he figured his batting out and added power to his strokes. When pushed against the wall, I think he goes back to his older self and hence looks ugly.

 

[Hasan123]

Are you talking about acceleration in IPL or International Cricket?

I have seen KL Rahul accelerate in international cricket. Babar Azam was struggling against a South African D attack today.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

I have seen KL Rahul accelerate in international cricket. Babar Azam was struggling against a South African D attack today.

Yeah but he doesn't do it consistently and thats the problem. You never know which KL Rahul will play on a given day.

 

[Hasan123]

Yeah but he doesn't do it consistently and thats the problem. You never know which KL Rahul will play on a given day.

As I said earlier in the thread. I would liked to see how KL Rahul career would have gone had he been given a fixed role for a prolonged period and allowed to play with freedom. Pretty confident he would have turned out to be even better than he is now.

 

[Rajdeep]

I always knew he is not the best batsman but didnt realize prior to this game that Babar is actually so bad in T20s. KL Rahul is a much superior white ball batsman. Hogging the pitch, scoring slow 50s and padding up stats does not make one a better batsman.

There is absolutely no doubt Babar is a much consistent player than Rahul but impact wise Rahul is better. I am not sure if Babar would make it into many IPL playing XI sides.

 

[RajBan]

Babar's problem in T20 is strike rate. He will score runs that is for sure. But in T20 avg and SR both matters, infact avg of 30s with SR of 150 is even more desired ( team avg score consistently goes to 190+) as opposed avg of 40s with SR of 130 (team avg score 160-165)

 

[Local.Dada]

As I said earlier in the thread. I would liked to see how KL Rahul career would have gone had he been given a fixed role for a prolonged period and allowed to play with freedom. Pretty confident he would have turned out to be even better than he is now.

Babar Azam doesn’t have the 5th and 6th gear KL has.

On the other hand Rahul doesn’t have the freedom to play at his own pace and take his own time in the packed Indian team.

That’s the difference.

You can’t compare Pujara with a Russell in terms of talent. They both have different roles.

May be it sounds Ridiculous or not but Babar’s comparison should be Kohli as the benchmark. Kohli and Rohit are the only guy who are the core of the Indian team and get some leeway in pacing the innings. Rohit has a different role.

 

[rhony]

As I said earlier in the thread. I would liked to see how KL Rahul career would have gone had he been given a fixed role for a prolonged period and allowed to play with freedom. Pretty confident he would have turned out to be even better than he is now.

It's his own fault though. Once he gets into a flopping rhythm, he loses his place.

 

[Hasan123]

It's his own fault though. Once he gets into a flopping rhythm, he loses his place.

Sometime he is batting at 5 and then he is opening. Not all his fault.

 

[Hasan123]

Babar Azam doesn’t have the 5th and 6th gear KL has.

On the other hand Rahul doesn’t have the freedom to play at his own pace and take his own time in the packed Indian team.

That’s the difference.

You can’t compare Pujara with a Russell in terms of talent. They both have different roles.

May be it sounds Ridiculous or not but Babar’s comparison should be Kohli as the benchmark. Kohli and Rohit are the only guy who are the core of the Indian team and get some leeway in pacing the innings. Rohit has a different role.

Lol Babar comparison is not Kohli. Kohli is leagues above.

 

[Local.Dada]

Lol Babar comparison is not Kohli. Kohli is leagues above.

Of course. I am talking about roles. You can compare Starc with Shaheen logically even though Starc is a borderline ATG but it won’t make sense if Shaheen is compared to say Chris Woakes. Only thing they have common is they are 135-140 K fast bowlers

 

[jusarrived]

It's his own fault though. Once he gets into a flopping rhythm, he loses his place.

I agree KL has messed up a bit, especially recently trying to copy the Rohit/Virats batting, which clearly doesn't suit him, but TM has played a part in making him very insecure about his spot . He's played every role in the lineup and there were few occasions he was dropped to accommodate Dhawan in T20 side, this was after he already had 2 T20 hundreds to his name. It's not just him, under Virat most batsmen get chucked out only after 2-3 bad games, so it's not surprising there is not a single batsmen who's cemented his spot in last 6-7 years.

 

[rhony]

I agree KL has messed up a bit, especially recently trying to copy the Rohit/Virats batting, which clearly doesn't suit him, but TM has played a part in making him very insecure about his spot . He's played every role in the lineup and there were few occasions he was dropped to accommodate Dhawan in T20 side, this was after he already had 2 T20 hundreds to his name. It's not just him, under Virat most batsmen get chucked out only after 2-3 bad games, so it's not surprising there is not a single batsmen who's cemented his spot in last 6-7 years.

Agree. But Rahul was given a lot of confidence ahead of Eng series. Losing the opening spot was his own fault. They gave him 3 games which was fair enough. I think kohli/Rohit is a good opening combo. Rahul could come at 5

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

I HATE stat boosters.

Especially in modern era where it hurts the team the most.

Good to see Rahul getting back in the groove.

Hopefully Babar learns from his poor knock.

How has Babar been in T20s in general?

Impactful or a consistent stat booster?

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Indians showing their fangs when they deep inside know that Rahul is no match to Babar.

Actually its the other way around.

Rahul's talent is leagues ahead of Babar.

All formats.

However his mindset is poor. And Babar's is solid.

Plus Rahul has regressed badly in tests.

So it makes for an interesting comparison.

Obviously Babar is ahead....and may well be.

But if Rahul works on his mindset and technique (BIG BIG IF).....he can hit levels that most batsman can't even dream of.

 

[Ab Fan]

I HATE stat boosters.

Especially in modern era where it hurts the team the most.

Good to see Rahul getting back in the groove.

Hopefully Babar learns from his poor knock.

How has Babar been in T20s in general?

Impactful or a consistent stat booster?

He has been like Manish Pandey.

 

[TheNightWatchman]

KL Rahul will always be in the shadow of Kohli and Rohit otherwise he's a very very good player.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

There is talent and there is realization of talent.

When people were mocking Pant, me & many others used to say he will go on to do great things.

I don't know if I posted it here but I used to tell my friends that Pant will be a legend of the game....WAY before India's tour of Aus 2020.

Glad to see him go on to realize his talent. In fact, I would say, he has FAR exceeded my expectation.

That dude is something else.

Rahul on the other hand, is a bit of an idiot....and it pains me to see him waste his talent.

Lets see what the future holds.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

He has been like Manish Pandey.

Surely not Manish Pandey???

Think its an insult to compare Babar to that useless stat boosting, match losing hack that is Manish Pandey.