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Babar Azam versus Lokesh Rahul

sensible-indian-fan said:
Surely not Manish Pandey???

Think its an insult to compare Babar to that useless stat boosting, match losing hack that is Manish Pandey.
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That is what Babar has been in T20s. Obviously, not talking about ODIs and Tests. But Pandey was not exploited well by TM at no.4 in ODIs.
 
Babar's T20 WC tournament will determine his standing I believe. Getting praise from a guy like Ponting is no joke. I'm sure the guy is much more than a "manish Pandey". People are overreacting because of his dreadful innings the other day.
 
sensible-indian-fan said:
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.
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India's three biggest talent over the past few years has been KL, Pant and Pandya. Unfortunately, KL even though the oldest among the three has probably achieved lesser than both Pant and Pandya have done till now. He really needs to start delivering it big and when it matters, starts getting uncomfortable when guys behind him push a bit by performances.
 
sensible-indian-fan said:
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?
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Ab Fan said:
He has been like Manish Pandey.
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Way better than Pandey lol, ABfan is just exaggerating .
Babar can hit boundaries against top fast bowlers unlike Pandey who waits for trundlers, but i would say that their six hitting ability is on par or may Pandey is a bit ahead on that front. Babar is absolutely pathetic as far as six hitting ability is concerned.

In ODIs Babar is a bit like Michael Clarke, great stats but not many iconic innings as such, In tests as of now he hasn’t even won a match for his country against a non minnow.
 
Cover Drive Six said:
Tendulkar is biggest 'Stat booster' and Selfish batsman.
That Bangladesh match setting was Pathetic.
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I think it's a 'Mumbai' thing. Whenever a batsman is close to a 50 or a 100 Gavaskar goes into a frenzy in the commentary. "He deserves a 50", "that's not a shot you play when you are close to a 100".

That innings by Sachin was one of his worst and was selfish. But credit to him, he played many that weren't.
 
TheNightWatchman said:
Babar's T20 WC tournament will determine his standing I believe. Getting praise from a guy like Ponting is no joke. I'm sure the guy is much more than a "manish Pandey". People are overreacting because of his dreadful innings the other day.
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Agreed, but I think the WC being in India will have a bit of impact on Babar's total runs in the tournament, everyone knows he is not great vs spin especially the left arm. If this WC was in Aus Babar would've been in the top 3 or 5 run-scorer but I don't think he will do that well in India.

Most teams will exploit his weakness vs left-arm spin & please don't tell me that he played really well vs Africa's spinners.
 
ChTab said:
Agreed, but I think the WC being in India will have a bit of impact on Babar's total runs in the tournament, everyone knows he is not great vs spin especially the left arm. If this WC was in Aus Babar would've been in the top 3 or 5 run-scorer but I don't think he will do that well in India.

Most teams will exploit his weakness vs left-arm spin & please don't tell me that he played really well vs Africa's spinners.
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A batsman of his stature should play well in all conditions. If he's as good as all these fans think. He's got to prove it. He failed in the 2019 WC besides 1 innings. If he's one of the best bats he's got to perform
 
TheNightWatchman said:
A batsman of his stature should play well in all conditions. If he's as good as all these fans think. He's got to prove it. He failed in the 2019 WC besides 1 innings. If he's one of the best bats he's got to perform
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I don't think he is as good as all these fans think, he's a bit overrated.
My issue with Babar's batting is that he doesn't try & take risks sometimes when it is compulsory, IMO he doesn't have any problem with power-hitting he just avoids it altogether just to elevate his stats. As you can see in his last ODI inns vs SA where he didn't even try to hit until the last over & then he cleared the boundary quite easily multiple times in the last over just because he knew he could get another 100.
 
ChTab said:
I don't think he is as good as all these fans think, he's a bit overrated.
My issue with Babar's batting is that he doesn't try & take risks sometimes when it is compulsory, IMO he doesn't have any problem with power-hitting he just avoids it altogether just to elevate his stats. As you can see in his last ODI inns vs SA where he didn't even try to hit until the last over & then he cleared the boundary quite easily multiple times in the last over just because he knew he could get another 100.
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No, he just lacks the ability to do so. Even freehits he can't get away.
 
rhony said:
I think it's a 'Mumbai' thing. Whenever a batsman is close to a 50 or a 100 Gavaskar goes into a frenzy in the commentary. "He deserves a 50", "that's not a shot you play when you are close to a 100".

That innings by Sachin was one of his worst and was selfish. But credit to him, he played many that weren't.
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Pretty much sums it up.

Prime Tendu was anything but a stat booster.

Out and out impact player.

Yes, he had a selfish streak to him but if someone uses that to feel better about Babar's knock...i dont know what to say lol.

To each their own.
 
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TheNightWatchman said:
A batsman of his stature should play well in all conditions. If he's as good as all these fans think. He's got to prove it. He failed in the 2019 WC besides 1 innings. If he's one of the best bats he's got to perform
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Babar’s stature will always be very high not just because he is an excellent B grade batsman (if you consider the likes of Kohli, Smith, Root, Williamson, Rohit A grade) but because he is an excellent B grade batsman playing in a team that is filled with F grade batsmen.

Babar is a huge beneficiary of the fact that he plays for a joke of a cricket team with no batting talent. He faces zero competition for his spot and there is zero pressure on him to alter his playing style. He can fail for 50 consecutive matches and he will still be head and shoulders above his teammates.

Babar’s quality will be tested if Pakistan produces 2-3 batsmen of his caliber. However, that seems impossible considering the lack of talent in Pakistan.
 
Mamoon said:
Babar’s stature will always be very high not just because he is an excellent B grade batsman (if you consider the likes of Kohli, Smith, Root, Williamson, Rohit A grade) but because he is an excellent B grade batsman playing in a team that is filled with F grade batsmen.

Babar is a huge beneficiary of the fact that he plays for a joke of a cricket team with no batting talent. He faces zero competition for his spot and there is zero pressure on him to alter his playing style. He can fail for 50 consecutive matches and he will still be head and shoulders above his teammates.

Babar’s quality will be tested if Pakistan produces 2-3 batsmen of his caliber. However, that seems impossible considering the lack of talent in Pakistan.
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I think Babar is as good as Root and Williamson and it will be reflected by his performances over the next 5-6 years.
 
Mamoon said:
Babar’s stature will always be very high not just because he is an excellent B grade batsman (if you consider the likes of Kohli, Smith, Root, Williamson, Rohit A grade) but because he is an excellent B grade batsman playing in a team that is filled with F grade batsmen.

Babar is a huge beneficiary of the fact that he plays for a joke of a cricket team with no batting talent. He faces zero competition for his spot and there is zero pressure on him to alter his playing style. He can fail for 50 consecutive matches and he will still be head and shoulders above his teammates.

Babar’s quality will be tested if Pakistan produces 2-3 batsmen of his caliber. However, that seems impossible considering the lack of talent in Pakistan.
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You need to put kohli in a seperate tier.

Babar is close to root and williamson at the same age. He will most likely be better then williamson when all is said and done

Root maybe.

Rohit has been great, i still can ignore his earlier career. Since 2016 hes been beastly. Tests its a non factor he hasnt performed anywhere except india.

Also he has only played like 40 tests in his whole career. And failed in most of them. Im not gonna speculate how he wouldve been if this and that happened. Fact is it didnt happen and he failed hard earlier in his career.

ODI ATG no doubt. Kohli will always be a tier above just because of his ability to chase targets single handedly.

And also his mentality to be the GOAT.
 
Bleedgreen4ever said:
Zimbabar LOL
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This bowling performance was worse than what Zimbabwe U-15 can put up. I haven’t seen so many pies bowled in one innings before.

A player of Babar’s quality can bat all day against this attack without breaking a sweat.

This type of collective bowling performance against an IPL lineup could produce the first 300 total in T20 cricket.

Absolutely shocking stuff.
 
LOL Indians compared him to c grade players like Pandey and iyer.Rahul is decent but Babar is way ahead of him.
 
Mamoon said:
This bowling performance was worse than what Zimbabwe U-15 can put up. I haven’t seen so many pies bowled in one innings before.

A player of Babar’s quality can bat all day against this attack without breaking a sweat.

This type of collective bowling performance against an IPL lineup could produce the first 300 total in T20 cricket.

Absolutely shocking stuff.
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Could do, would do, should do don't mean it's true. You wiped your tears yet
 
Great knock from Babar. This is a type of knock Kohli played vs Australia at its peak.

Awful from South Africa. Their team management has made some blasphemous decisions over past 2-3 years and they should serve an apology to the South African cricket fans( not me but I know quite a few who have probably given up on the hope of improvement of their standings in cricket).
 
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Ab Fan said:
Great knock from Babar.

But South African team management has made some blasphemous decisions over past 2-3 years and they should serve an apology to the South African cricket fans( not me but I know quite a few who have probably given up on the hope of improvement of their standings in cricket).
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Their top bowlers besides Shamsi were not playing. The reserve bowlers of any team would have struggled let alone SA.
 
No contest Babar is up there probably as the world best batsman at the moment
 
Ab Fan said:
Great knock from Babar. This is a type of knock Kohli played vs Australia at its peak.

Awful from South Africa. Their team management has made some blasphemous decisions over past 2-3 years and they should serve an apology to the South African cricket fans( not me but I know quite a few who have probably given up on the hope of improvement of their standings in cricket).
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Were you asking for SA to apologise in last t20I or just because they got thrashing of a life time by the number 1 batsman in the world who happens to be a Pakistani that you have to cope like this?
 
When the IPL hero stops chickening out of playing tests for India, then we can talk about him.
 
Ab Fan said:
That is what Babar has been in T20s. Obviously, not talking about ODIs and Tests. But Pandey was not exploited well by TM at no.4 in ODIs.
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Pandey is over rated. He has limited ability. Rahul has the ability but is a mental midget. He should have been tracking along with Babar by now.
 
Ab Fan said:
Great knock from Babar. This is a type of knock Kohli played vs Australia at its peak.

Awful from South Africa. Their team management has made some blasphemous decisions over past 2-3 years and they should serve an apology to the South African cricket fans( not me but I know quite a few who have probably given up on the hope of improvement of their standings in cricket).
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Don't be shy and blame it on IPL please. Also not every fan can change their team like some glory hunters do these days. :inti
 
Saurav said:
eh?when has he refused to play?Hes been on the bench
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Watch out for the shoulder niggles and ankle injuries everytime he looks to be called up, including in Australia just recently. The same shoulder is operating at 400% capacity in the IPL as we type.

He's just biding his time. At 28, he just has to pass away a couple of years and he can continue earning his crores in the IPL without the threat of a national call-up and his brand value suffering when he inevitably fails in the real formats of the game.
 
Varun said:
Watch out for the shoulder niggles and ankle injuries everytime he looks to be called up, including in Australia just recently. The same shoulder is operating at 400% capacity in the IPL as we type.

He's just biding his time. At 28, he just has to pass away a couple of years and he can continue earning his crores in the IPL without the threat of a national call-up and his brand value suffering when he inevitably fails in the real formats of the game.
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I’ve always got disinterested vibes from KL as well when it comes to representing his country. The true definition of an IPL star. The type of cricketer I have the least respect for.
 
Ab Fan said:
I think Babar is as good as Root and Williamson and it will be reflected by his performances over the next 5-6 years.
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I think this post was created by me only. Nobody had hacked my account to post this :))
 
Varun said:
Watch out for the shoulder niggles and ankle injuries everytime he looks to be called up, including in Australia just recently. The same shoulder is operating at 400% capacity in the IPL as we type.

He's just biding his time. At 28, he just has to pass away a couple of years and he can continue earning his crores in the IPL without the threat of a national call-up and his brand value suffering when he inevitably fails in the real formats of the game.
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He can surely retire from tests in that case. There's enough people waiting in the wings.
 
Varun said:
Watch out for the shoulder niggles and ankle injuries everytime he looks to be called up, including in Australia just recently. The same shoulder is operating at 400% capacity in the IPL as we type.

He's just biding his time. At 28, he just has to pass away a couple of years and he can continue earning his crores in the IPL without the threat of a national call-up and his brand value suffering when he inevitably fails in the real formats of the game.
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playing with injury for 40 overs is quite different than playing for 5 days

Next what?Bhuvi does it too?
 
Ok today’s performance and babars ranking buries this thread for eternity like I’ve always said. Some era gera nathu gera like kl rahul.
Does not deserved to be mentioned in the same sentence as The number odi batsman that is Babar Azam.!
 
ChTab said:
Agreed, but I think the WC being in India will have a bit of impact on Babar's total runs in the tournament, everyone knows he is not great vs spin especially the left arm. If this WC was in Aus Babar would've been in the top 3 or 5 run-scorer but I don't think he will do that well in India.

Most teams will exploit his weakness vs left-arm spin & please don't tell me that he played really well vs Africa's spinners.
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He needs to use the sweep alot more obviously its not a preferred shot for him but he can play it against the left arm spinner.
 
Mean&Green said:
Ok today’s performance and babars ranking buries this thread for eternity like I’ve always said. Some era gera nathu gera like kl rahul.
Does not deserved to be mentioned in the same sentence as The number odi batsman that is Babar Azam.!
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Playing ability wise the difference might not that huge but Babar trumps KL in terms of focus, application and consistency. Those are the three qualities that seperates the great players from good ones.
 
RajBan said:
Playing ability wise the difference might not that huge but Babar trumps KL in terms of focus, application and consistency. Those are the three qualities that seperates the great players from good ones.
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Well said!
 
Mean&Green said:
Ok today’s performance and babars ranking buries this thread for eternity like I’ve always said. Some era gera nathu gera like kl rahul.
Does not deserved to be mentioned in the same sentence as The number odi batsman that is Babar Azam.!
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Rahul also played similar innings against a better English bowling attack in Manchester 2018. If this thread didnt got buried then, not sure what is the rush to bury it now. Both are still in their 20s and have lots of cricket left. Let this thread continue and we will have a winner ultimately by the close of this decade.
 
Rahul has really struggled to stay with Babar azam who actually has not had a great start to test cricket himself.

Both these batters have to up their game in test match cricket. Babar is ahead and will probably always stay ahead of Rahul.
 
Bob is a top batsman in all formats. Rahul Bhai is one performance away from getting kicked out of the team.
 
Welcome back to Test Cricket again, KL Rahul.

The thread is alive now as King Legend Rahul redeems himself in toughest form of cricket at the toughest job for a batsman.
 
Ab Fan said:
Welcome back to Test Cricket again, KL Rahul.

The thread is alive now as King Legend Rahul redeems himself in toughest form of cricket at the toughest job for a batsman.
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I dont want to compare with Babar.
But I am very happy for Rahul, hope will play in all formats :)
 
I had massive hopes on him when he made that hundred in Australia. Maybe this can be a lease of life. Still would prefer Gill partnering Rohit though.
 
I would only consider the real deal in cricket ie. tests for a comparison.
both have not performed to expectations and not even separated much in terms of numbers.
but Rahul had a brilliant test series against Australia in India , and was main guy responsible for series victory.
Babar has no notable knocks to show yet.
 
Babar_Azam_fan said:
Rahul showing the difference, and also showing how a match winner plays
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Match winner aspect is overrated in Test Cricket. In Test Cricket, an individual can only change the consequence of the game depending on the strength of the side he has. More than match winning ability, the conditions where they thrive matters the most.

KL at its best has performed in more tough conditions than Rohit has done in his test career even though Rohit has been averaging much higher than him in test cricket.
 
globalcitizen said:
Just see 2 posts above. For me test cricket is real deal. You can talk all day about odi or t20 I don't care.
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Pak rests Amir and plays likes of Musa in test matches in Aus. Pak also cancels test matches vs WI to play more T20. As an Indian it’s clear to me that test cricket is just a formality for Pakistan. Its impossible for Babar to have the drive to become best test batsman of the world in such lethargic team environment.
 
Cric_lover4487 said:
Pak rests Amir and plays likes of Musa in test matches in Aus. Pak also cancels test matches vs WI to play more T20. As an Indian it’s clear to me that test cricket is just a formality for Pakistan. Its impossible for Babar to have the drive to become best test batsman of the world in such lethargic team environment.
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Well he can start by not scoring consecutive ducks against Zimbabwe . Anyway there are better youngsters to look for than these two
 
Rahul has played several better o mocks than Babar in Tests. He is much better T20 player, and the only reason he is behind him in ODIs is because he has to compete with the the greatest top 3 in ODI history.

If Babar was India, he would also be a mere backup and would not have any standing and stature in world cricket.

If Rahul was Pakistani, he would be a superstar and captain in all formats.

Although India have given him a consistent run at 5 after all these years and he has been fantastic.

Overall, Rahul is a better batsman with more ability. He can do everything Babar can, but he has an extra gear that Babar cannot dream of reaching.
 
There is a reason KL Rahul averages around 35 after playing 36 something tests. He is not consistent in tests. The kind of talent he has I think he has underachieved in tests. Hopefully he will be an integral part of Indian LOI teams as a wicketkeeper batsman. I will keep my expectations low in tests though. :inti
 
This Rahul guy is already 29 years old and he averages only 35 after playing 37 tests.He is just an average cricketer without any impact.
He won't even make into playing 11 of many teams.
 
Yasir_ch said:
This Rahul guy is already 29 years old and he averages only 35 after playing 37 tests.He is just an average cricketer without any impact.
He won't even make into playing 11 of many teams.
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Yes agree oldies like rahul and babar are thing of past. One cannot score consistently, and another well scores ducks against Zimbabwe.
Labushagne is the future
 
Rahul plays a knock with 2 dropped catches and suddenly he becomes better than any batsman Pak has ever produced.
Truth be told Rahul was never as good as some people imagine him to be based on a couple of quick fire t20 knocks. He is average in test and odi. Doesn't which way you put it
 
globalcitizen said:
Yes agree oldies like rahul and babar are thing of past. One cannot score consistently, and another well scores ducks against Zimbabwe.
Labushagne is the future
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What is Labuschange age? He is not some 20 year old. He is in my same age range of Babar
 
People can say all they want but opening in India is a lot different than opening in England. KL Rahul's inning today as opener is better than any inning that an Indian opener has played on these tracks in last 10 years.

It is easy to produce flat track bullies who will average 60-70 at home and struggle to score anything overseas but much harder to produce an all-condition bat like Rahul.
 
Considering Babar is regarded as one of the best, do we really need to stoop to the level of Rahul?
 
Smudger said:
What is Labuschange age? He is not some 20 year old. He is in my same age range of Babar
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He is already averaging 60 and performed everywhere. Rahuls and babars are no where close. Anyway scoring ducks against Zimbabwe won't help either
 
Ab Fan said:
People can say all they want but opening in India is a lot different than opening in England. KL Rahul's inning today as opener is better than any inning that an Indian opener has played on these tracks in last 10 years.

It is easy to produce flat track bullies who will average 60-70 at home and struggle to score anything overseas but much harder to produce an all-condition bat like Rahul.
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Last 10 years? Vijay played better knocks
 
It's one thing to hype a young 21-22 years old and it's another to hype another tried and tested 29 years old failure.

He would have been out many times in that lucky knock he played.
 
Yasir_ch said:
It's one thing to hype a young 21-22 years old and it's another to hype another tried and tested 29 years old failure.

He would have been out many times in that lucky knock he played.
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How is a 49 averaging odi batsman (str rate 90) and a 40 averaging t20 batsman (str rate 143) a failure?
You have some really high standards.
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
How is a 49 averaging odi batsman (str rate 90) and a 40 averaging t20 batsman (str rate 143) a failure?
You have some really high standards.
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LOL I m talking about test cricket here.He is a failure in test cricket and he is not some young upcoming prospect he might have only 4-5 years left

He is never gonna be a top class test batsman.
 
Top 5 U-30 batsman in the world currently:-

Quinton de kock
Babar Azam
Marnus Labuschagne
Rishabh Pant
KL Rahul
 
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