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Babar Azam versus Lokesh Rahul

Mamoon said:
English players respect Azhar Ali. He has a classical English technique which he developed by playing club cricket in Scotland early in his career and is an old school Test cricketer which the English prefer.

Also, he has played some good knocks against them.

I'm hopeful that he will score at least one hundred in the series. He negotiates the new ball better than anyone in the country and has very good discipline.

It will be great to see him on the Lord's Honor Board.
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Never knew he played club cricket in Scotland. Yes he's very good against the new ball by pakistan standard :)).

2 questions, will he surpass team man and misbah?
Also in your opnion will he go down as a Pakistan great in test match terms? Will be difficult for him in ODI's I think
 
Immature comparison at this point, neither of them have done anything otherworldly.
 
Hasan123 said:
Never knew he played club cricket in Scotland. Yes he's very good against the new ball by pakistan standard :)).

2 questions, will he surpass team man and misbah?
Also in your opnion will he go down as a Pakistan great in test match terms? Will be difficult for him in ODI's I think
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Azhar has a classical back-and-across technique. He got his basics in the UK which is reflected in his batting, but since he started as a leg-spinner, his shot range is limited.

He will definitely surpass Misbah in Tests, but as much as I hate to say it, but Younis is a far better player of spin bowling, which is why Azhar has not been a big scorer in UAE like Younis.

However, he is a very hard worker and should improve with time.

Yes I do think both Azhar and Shafiq will end up as Pakistan Test batting greats. Would love to see them play 100 Tests, score 8,000 runs with 20+ hundreds.

They are pretty much halfway there.
 
Mamoon said:
Azhar has a classical back-and-across technique. He got his basics in the UK which is reflected in his batting, but since he started as a leg-spinner, his shot range is limited.

He will definitely surpass Misbah in Tests, but as much as I hate to say it, but Younis is a far better player of spin bowling, which is why Azhar has not been a big scorer in UAE like Younis.

However, he is a very hard worker and should improve with time.

Yes I do think both Azhar and Shafiq will end up as Pakistan Test batting greats. Would love to see them play 100 Tests, score 8,000 runs with 20+ hundreds.

They are pretty much halfway there.
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If he scores in these away tours and gets the runs you predicted he could edge ahead of team man. He works hard at his game and avoids controversies. Same with Asad as well 2 respectable batsmen for us.
 
Hasan123 said:
If he scores in these away tours and gets the runs you predicted he could edge ahead of team man. He works hard at his game and avoids controversies. Same with Asad as well 2 respectable batsmen for us.
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The selectors did a good job in investing in these two instead of players like Fawad and Umar. Big credit goes to Mohsin Khan who selected them in the first place.
 
Mamoon said:
The selectors did a good job in investing in these two instead of players like Fawad and Umar. Big credit goes to Mohsin Khan who selected them in the first place.
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Fully agreed. I can remember when they have gone through bad patches people wanted them dropped :)) :)). But I wanted to stick with them and it's paid off so far.
 
jusarrived said:
Rahul is not rated cos of his IPL performances , its his U-19 and then Domestic showing which got him a call into the Indian side.

you couldn't be more wrong . if you watched his domestic season , he scored most of his runs on difficult pitches . And Karnataka does not play on these flat pitches ( half the time they dont plat in Bangalore either ) in domestic , its always made to assist its seamers .
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Fair enough and thanks for correcting me. He is yet to fulfill his potential then. So far, its been just about average.
 
Mamoon said:
I like Azhar, but why should I make him something that he is not?

He is a limited batsman and not top tier material.

Top tier batsmen are the likes of Kohli, Root, Smith, Williamson, Mathews etc. I never said Azhar is in their league.
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Of our current lot - only Babar and maybe Haris can reach their level if they work hard and keep focused on their game.
 
msb314 said:
Of our current lot - only Babar and maybe Haris can reach their level if they work hard and keep focused on their game.
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I don't know about Haris anymore bro, he's fragile and already about to be 27 and was still just finding his feet in internationals, when at that age batsman start becoming well established like Williamson or Kohli.

PCB really damaged his career by debuting him so damn late, when he should've been in the team 2-3 years prior to his debut in 2014, when he was like 23 or 24.

Babar has a lot of time on his side though, yeah. Though idk if he has the killer instinct of someone like Root or Kohli.
 
Anis10 said:
Btw Babar played against this guy named Chand during under 19s, what happened to him, he scored a century in the final and everyone though that he was going to be the next kohli
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He had a few lean seasons but is back on track now. He is the India A captain for limited overs & did well in list A (Vijay Hazare) this season, taking Delhi to the finals with some big knocks in the knockouts. He also had a phenomenal run in the higher ranked Deodhar trophy IIRC. The selectors have an eye on him, he just needs 1 or 2 good domestic seasons & IPL to be back in the reckoning for international selection.
 
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Suleiman said:
I don't know about Haris anymore bro, he's fragile and already about to be 27 and was still just finding his feet in internationals, when at that age batsman start becoming well established like Williamson or Kohli.

PCB really damaged his career by debuting him so damn late, when he should've been in the team 2-3 years prior to his debut in 2014, when he was like 23 or 24.

Babar has a lot of time on his side though, yeah. Though idk if he has the killer instinct of someone like Root or Kohli.
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True but due to his late start he may be able to prolong his career like Misbah and YK.

I would hope to see him in ODI colors for atleast the next decade or so. Hopefully, even longer for Babar...
 
rhony said:
Fair enough and thanks for correcting me. He is yet to fulfill his potential then. So far, its been just about average.
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Am excited about him cos hes still work in progress . Hes bit of a confidence player , am not surprised how hes done in the shorter format , cos his game does not have any obvious weakness , either against pace /spin / bounce or swing , but there are areas he can improve in each of these aspects . For eg hes a compulsive puller , I think he wanted to prove a point in Aus and tried pulling/hooking against the likes of MJ , when it dint work it seems to have hurt his confidence and played some shots he normally does not in domestic . you will see a different player once he gets a long run of atleast 10 matches in the Indian side
 
Babar azam is more talented I like lokesh too but babar has the same genes as umar akmal so need to see his consistent performance for a year atleast
 
Both are talented and both will do well for their countries

Rahul learning from the likes of Kohli will make him better

I hope a lot of our younger players look up to Indian batsmen
 
yasir said:
I remembered he had excellent NZ tour in Jan...In this video, he hit twice Mline 149, 146 clicks over long on and long off, non of the Pakistani can do that except his cusion and maybe Sharjeel...

He would have done much better in middle order than 40 year old duds this summer... Complete waste of time and investment :faceplam:

Ideally Pakistan should have prep Babar, Harris and Umer 2 years ago for next gen middle order, instead they keep trolling with Misbah, YK... Now we are neither here or there and minnows in LOIs :po:
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A 19 year old Umar Akmal did the same and PCB mismanaged him into the tulla baz he is now.

We should have had Umar, Babar Azam and Haris Sohail as our middle order instead of technically limited duds like Azhar Ali and Iftikhar that make taking a single look difficult.
 
I remember waking up at 3 30 for those 2 NZ ODIs and being so frustrated at Shehzad and Azhar until I Babar and Hafeez blew me away. Couldnt believe I was watching Pakistanis bat. These 2 need to be number 3 and 4 and after Hafeez retires Babar should bat at 4.
 
Flat_Track_Bully said:
A 19 year old Umar Akmal did the same and PCB mismanaged him into the tulla baz he is now.

We should have had Umar, Babar Azam and Haris Sohail as our middle order instead of technically limited duds like Azhar Ali and Iftikhar that make taking a single look difficult.
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Babar will do much better simply because his work ethic is much better than Akmal's and the best part is he has started his career batting at 4 and comes across as more of a top 3 player. No team management will demot ehim below 4. After Hafeez's retirement he will and should bat at 3 if Haris is unfit. If Haris is fit then he should open.
 
aliasad1998 said:
Babar will do much better simply because his work ethic is much better than Akmal's and the best part is he has started his career batting at 4 and comes across as more of a top 3 player. No team management will demot ehim below 4. After Hafeez's retirement he will and should bat at 3 if Haris is unfit. If Haris is fit then he should open.
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Umar Akmal is equally as talented if not more but Misbah and Afridi and coaches did not have a clue on how to groom his attitude and application.

Hafeez and Misbah used their seniority to hold on to their places and stopped or not help anyone else willing to step forward. Thats why we saw plenty of bowling debuts but no batter debuts till recently when Maqsood and Haris were tried 2 years ago. This is a crime against our cricket that average old timers did this to our cricket. New batters are being forced on them and watch them fade away and take their mediocrity with them.
 
Why blame the pcb, when Umar himself is a tool. It's not PCB's job to mollycoddle every player in wool and spoonfeed them. PCB should simply ensure that Umar got the right opportunities and good mentoring.

If the player himself doesn't want to go the extra mile, there is nothing PCB can do. Do you think Wasim, Imran, Kohli and Sachin were spoonfed by their respective boards? Those who become great, do it with or without their cricket boards. Those who fail, will fail in the best cricket systems.
 
yasir said:
I remembered he had excellent NZ tour in Jan...In this video, he hit twice Mline 149, 146 clicks over long on and long off, non of the Pakistani can do that except his cusion and maybe Sharjeel...

He would have done much better in middle order than 40 year old duds this summer... Complete waste of time and investment :faceplam:

Ideally Pakistan should have prep Babar, Harris and Umer 2 years ago for next gen middle order, instead they keep trolling with Misbah, YK... Now we are neither here or there and minnows in LOIs :po:
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Yeah he really has a well rounded game, the straight hits were very well done in a composed manner.
 
babar looks very classy. I really like Rahul bases on what I've seen of him in tests so far. His hundred in SL was extremely impressive.

Chrish said:
Talking about test mate
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Dhawan has been decent enough in tests though. He even got runs in NZ and a very good hundred in SL, so he's not just a home track bully either. He's not amazing but think he gets an unfair bad rap. Rohit hasto be binned soon.
 
Rahul's got a fifty along with comments of "very impressive" & "pure class" from Viv Richards.

Babar has also been consistently scoring runs for Pakistan A in England.

Hope both of them become regulars in their Test sides soon. Exciting days ahead !
 
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Abhilash93 said:
Rahul's got a fifty along with comments of "very impressive" & "pure class" from Viv Richards.

Babar has also been consistently scoring runs for Pakistan A in England.

Hope both of them become regulars in their Test sides soon. Exciting days ahead !
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This Man Rahul will achieve big things for sure! In my prediction he will end up somewhere between Sachin and Dravid in terms of achievement, while Kohli will surely go past Sachin!

More international test cricket will only solidify him further and bring the best out of him in all formats!
 
OS_89 said:
Dhawan has been decent enough in tests though. He even got runs in NZ and a very good hundred in SL, so he's not just a home track bully either. He's not amazing but think he gets an unfair bad rap. Rohit hasto be binned soon.
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Yes Dhawan though doesn't have great technique, he at least has some temperament. I think he can continue as Test Opener mainly because he is a left hander. Rahul can actually come at 3 if Pujara loses his way! Actually the fight for spot is between Dhawan & Pujara, both can play only if India switches to 6 batsmen strategy which is very unlikely and even most people don't want (including me).
 
Never trust the judgement:srini

Both are clearly talented cricketers.

Rahul's average is misleading. Anybody who has watched him bat will tell you that he is much better than that.
 
Hope Babar is able to play atleast a test match during this tour.
 
What I liked the most about Rahul is his ability to adapt to all three formats. He can score runs quickly and still seems like a classical test player. He has age on his side too.
 
Shikhar Dhawan isn't an all rounded player but has managed to score valuable runs quite a few times. His century vs SL was brilliant and has scored in NZ and WI too. I think he is a kind of player who would most likely come good in a strong team but might struggle in a weaker team.
 
Lokesh is already better and he will play along the guys like kohli , rahane and vijay ( highly underrated).
 
Rahul can be our Joe Root who can be relied upon in all the formats. Hope we give him a long run at least from now on.
 
Rahul's a bit more technically sound with better defence while Babar has better hand-eye and greater range of shots.
 
Hopefully Babar is playing tests soon and KL is in the LO team, than we can get a good comparison
 
Hasan123 said:
Hopefully Babar is playing tests soon and KL is in the LO team, than we can get a good comparison
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Very difficult for KL to enter the current full strength Indian ODI side. I believe he will be replacing MS as our keeper-batsman.
 
Love the way Rahul stands competely still even when the ball is being bowled by the bowler and doesn't get in any pre meditated position like Amla and Kohli.
 
Chief Destroyer said:
Rahul's a bit more technically sound with better defence while Babar has better hand-eye and greater range of shots.
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He has improved his stroke play by leaps & bounds in the last 1-2 years, played at a good SR in IPL & Zim tour this year whereas he used to struggle to get going in previous seasons. Also got his 50 off just 60 balls yesterday. But the good thing is he has a good sense of judgement about when to attack and defend.
 
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Abhilash93 said:
He has improved his stroke play by leaps & bounds in the last 1-2 years, played at a good SR in IPL & Zim tour. Also got his 50 off just 60 balls yesterday. But the good thing is he has a good sense of judgement about when to attack and defend.
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Nothing holding back Rahul anymore!
 
Rahul looks very comfortable against all kinds of bowling. It looks like Indians have found an opener with a good potential. How old is this guy?
 
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How much of Rahul's progress can be attributed to playing in the same IPL team as AB and Kohli.
 
The problem that Rahul is facing is that the only way he can be a part of the Indian ODI and T20 teams is if he plays as an opener so the only person he can replace is Dhawan who shouldnt be dropped from LOIs
 
aliasad1998 said:
The problem that Rahul is facing is that the only way he can be a part of the Indian ODI and T20 teams is if he plays as an opener so the only person he can replace is Dhawan who shouldnt be dropped from LOIs
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Rahul can replace Rahane. In LO's.
 
aliasad1998 said:
The problem that Rahul is facing is that the only way he can be a part of the Indian ODI and T20 teams is if he plays as an opener so the only person he can replace is Dhawan who shouldnt be dropped from LOIs
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Rahul played down the order for RCB this IPL and was fairly successful (400+ runs at 50+ avg at 160+ strike rate). India's problems are down the order and he might be the solution for us...
 
Sandeep said:
Rahul played down the order for RCB this IPL and was fairly successful (400+ runs at 50+ avg at 160+ strike rate). India's problems are down the order and he might be the solution for us...
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Yeah but Pandey is a better option in the middle order. You could fit all 3 of Rahane, Pandey and Rahul in the middle order but for that Rahul will have to keep. Tbh I dont think a team like India even needs Rahane in LOIs. Raina is probably better though I dont rate him much
 
aliasad1998 said:
Yeah but Pandey is a better option in the middle order. You could fit all 3 of Rahane, Pandey and Rahul in the middle order but for that Rahul will have to keep. Tbh I dont think a team like India even needs Rahane in LOIs. Raina is probably better though I dont rate him much
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Dhawan
Rohit
Kohli
Rahul
Pandey
Dhoni..

This should be our order..
 
Amazing ODI average

ODIs 3 3 2 196 100* 196.00 235 83.40 1 1 15 3 3 0


Lol
 
Rahul deserves to play all 3 formats regularly now potentially to be better than rahane across all formats
 
Havent seen Babar play so dont know if he is an opener or a middle-order batsman. If latter then this comparison is pointless.
 
Rahul is scoring hundred in T20s at 200+ strike rate and has scored a hundred in all formats and Babar still can't score a hundred in just ODIs. That's the difference between their class.
 
Surf said:
Rahul is scoring hundred in T20s at 200+ strike rate and has scored a hundred in all formats and Babar still can't score a hundred in just ODIs. That's the difference between their class.
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To be fair, babar hasn't have that much exposure.
 
Manish Pandey might be Kohli jr, but looks like Rahul is the next Kohli:msd

Our ODI team must be this:

Dhawan
Rohit
Kohli (c)
Rahul
Pandey
Dhoni (wk)
Jadeja
Ashwin
Bhuvi
Shami
Bumrah
 
LegendAli said:
Stop trying to make us feel good.

Babar couldn't lace Rahul's shoelaces going by what we've seen from the both of them in the last 5 odd games or so.
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I watched Babar bat today and he looked impressive. I'm not comparing him to Rahul. Bear in mind that Babar is around 3 or 4 years younger.
 
street cricketer said:
Manish Pandey might be Kohli jr, but looks like Rahul is the next Kohli:msd

Our ODI team must be this:

Dhawan
Rohit
Kohli (c)
Rahul
Pandey
Dhoni (wk)
Jadeja
Ashwin
Bhuvi
Shami
Bumrah
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If we can find a player like Woakes to replace one of the fast bowlers, we would be unbeatable..
 
street cricketer said:
Manish Pandey might be Kohli jr, but looks like Rahul is the next Kohli:msd

Our ODI team must be this:

Dhawan
Rohit
Kohli (c)
Rahul
Pandey
Dhoni (wk)
Jadeja
Ashwin
Bhuvi
Shami
Bumrah
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imo we can experiment with K Pandya instead of Jadeja.
 
JaDed said:
Yes but we can try in T20s esp outside India.
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Rahane and Jadeja needs to be booted out of T20s.. Jadeja is an ODI specialist who can do well on sporting pitches in tests. Rahane is an out and out test player. Need to get fresh faces like Rahul to add a new dynamic to our T20 side..
 
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