Current generation Test batsmen from India and SA (and in general) are underrated

[Sin Nombre]

Kallis is a player I admire but there is a thread which is asking if Kohli can ever surpass him as a test batsman, and one of the main arguments are their batting averages.

Anyone who has followed cricket over the last 20 years will immediately recognize how much more valuable Kohli's runs have been, which the raw average itself will never show.

India and South Africa are 2 teams in particular which have made a habit of dishing out tough pitches and getting dished out tough pitches in return in the last few yeas.

If I look at India in particular, both the series that they hosted against SA and Aus had both teams being bundled out for less than 250; and the same has happened in their tours to SA and England.

This is a far cry from the mid-2000s era where most matches would end in draws; and teams would score leisurely 450+ in first innings.


One of the easiest ways to see this is looking at the bowling averages of players from these teams.

India

Ashwin 25.45
Jadeja 23.11

Bhuvi 26.09
Bumrah 22.61
Shami 29.76


SA

Rabada 21.71
Philander 21.54
Steyn 22.64 (GOAT numbers since he maintained this in easy batting era)
Morkel 27.66

Maharaj 27.65


When did we last have 5 bowlers apiece from 2 teams averaging in the 20s?


The weight of runs scored by Kohli and AB in these low scoring series is so much higher than the 100s scored in the mid-2000s on placid pitches.

 

[pratiktc]

Batting averages are rightfully accrued over course of a career.

You are looking at a small swathe of matches for Kohli (around 8-9 to be precise in his 60 match career so far) and arguing premise of bowler friendly era.

In the long run, these will average out as series with flat decks occur. Kohli's lower average(at this point) as compared to Kallis is more a function of his lower volume run output and inconsistency pre 2014, than having encountered a significantly higher percentage of challenging tracks than Kallis. Like most great batsmen, Kohli's average also is moving towards peaking out at high fifties and then settling to low 50s as he inevitably declines.

If after 100 tests, Kohli has a challenging track ratio of around 30%, then there may be merit to considering upward adjustment to his career numbers. However at this point, Kallis probably has faced equal if not higher % of bowler friendly tracks as Kohli has.

 

[Sin Nombre]

I think 8-9 is a gross underestimate.

Starting from the series against SL in mid-2015, 15 of his last 33 tests have been on tough batting tracks.


The low bowling averages easily demonstrate that batsmen have been getting bundled over.

 

[zeusathon]

Under-rated? You don't call them great after sliding the game heavily towards their side. Let them face the quality of Wasim/Waqar on actual lively tracks and you'd know how big of ducks are they.