KL Rahul vs Imam-ul Haq (as openers)

[Sin Nombre]

Maybe KL can do to Imam (and Babar) what Akmal jnr did to Kohli and Rohit


Interesting comparison even without the jinxing. Both like wasting balls to inflate their averages.

Almost exactly the same average and S/R for both as an opener.


Currently as openers,

KL


Imam

 

[jnaveen1980]

KL is a much better player than 80 strike rate batsman. He is voluntarily in a shell.

 

[spiderreddy]

KL will go back to middle order once Dhawan is back

 

[Titan24]

KL is a much better player than 80 strike rate batsman. He is voluntarily in a shell.

I wont say in a shell voluntarily, he isnt much experienced in ODIs just like Imam and needs to build his confidence. However, Rahul should start to get off those nerves quickly as he is 27-28 and there are some young upcoming Indian batsmen as well.

 

[Suleiman]

KL has much more potential. Look at his t20 hundred vs WI for example, Imam could never do that.

Having said that Imam is the best Pakistan got compared to the hacks in domestics.

I just hope this doesn’t become an excuse thread to bash Imam.

 

[big_gamer007]

People underestimate Imam. KL is in his peak years as a sportsperson. Imam is young and already competing with KL.

 

[Ram Shekhar]

We've not seen what KL is capable of, yet. The man still has a long way to go. The next 2 years will define his career. He can go and be one of the best in the world or he can also go the Dinesh Karthik way. It's all in the head.

 

[Babbar]

People underestimate Imam. KL is in his peak years as a sportsperson. Imam is young and already competing with KL.

KL just started. He’s nowhere near his peak. If he has the right attitude, India coaching system will
make him the worlds best- next only to Kohli and Rohit.

Imam is probably better than KL right now but like Akmal vs Rohit in 2013 vs now, the quality of their support infrastructures will come into play in future.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Everyone keep in mind that KL is 3.5 years older than Imam.

 

[big_gamer007]

KL just started. He’s nowhere near his peak. If he has the right attitude, India coaching system will
make him the worlds best- next only to Kohli and Rohit.

Imam is probably better than KL right now but like Akmal vs Rohit in 2013 vs now, the quality of their support infrastructures will come into play in future.

KL is 27-28 years old. That's the peak of a sportsperson. I am talking about age wise. Imam is still in developing years.

You can't compare with rohit, Rohit found form when he was 25-26. He started early, KL is already 27-28 we can't give him 3-4 years to develop

Imam is young and can afford 3-4 years of development provided he puts in the hard work.

 

[ManFan]

Imam is more consistent but limited.

KL is dynamic but lacks temperament.

If I had to start a team and pick one of the two, I would pick Imam because he is younger and shown a cool head.

 

[hadi123]

Indians are 9 times out of 10 better than Pakistani counterparts, unfortunately

 

[ManFan]

Indians are 9 times out of 10 better than Pakistani counterparts, unfortunately

Not better but more well-groomed in the finer aspects of the game.

They have more resources to guide their young stars while we let them go off on their own.

 

[Hasan123]

KL Rahul has every shot in the book and way more gears than Imam will ever have. I think if he can sort his mental issues out , he will be the better player.

If you combined KL Rahul natural ability and shot range with Imams temperament, you get a ATG batter.

 

[Mamoon]

Rahul is a terrific player and very close to Kohli, Rohit and Dhawan in ability. He hasn’t fulfilled his potential yet because India haven’t allowed him to.

Their top three is GOAT material so he was never going to get a consistent run in those positions, but they wasted time with Rahane, Rayudu, Karthik and Shankar at #4 without giving Rahul a proper run - he has only played at that position 5 times.

With better management, people would now be talking about India’s top four not top three, and the #4 position wouldn’t have been a vulnerable spot in the team.

 

[DRsohail]

People underestimate Imam. KL is in his peak years as a sportsperson. Imam is young and already competing with KL.

So you rate Imam?

 

[Mamoon]

Imam is very good for our standards and is easily the best Pakistani opener at the moment, but you cannot compare our batsmen with India’s.

Someone like Prithvi Shaw is already 5 times better than Imam and 10 times better than Fakhar, and they keep producing them.

 

[AdamM97]

KL is 27-28 years old. That's the peak of a sportsperson. I am talking about age wise. Imam is still in developing years.

You can't compare with rohit, Rohit found form when he was 25-26. He started early, KL is already 27-28 we can't give him 3-4 years to develop

Imam is young and can afford 3-4 years of development provided he puts in the hard work.

KL Rahul also bats with Rohit which takes the pressure off him. Imam bats with Fakhar who looks like he'll be dismissed every 2 balls.

 

[Sin Nombre]

mamoon is doing his best reverse-jinx on KL and Shaw.

 

[sharmaji]

I just hope that both KL and Imam continue to play well for their teams and this thread becomes a celebration of a healthy competition between their performances and not about dissing them against each other and calling them names every time they fail.

Having said that, even though both of them have the same consistency issues and are nervous at the beginning of the innings, currently I feel KL seems more talented.

 

[Inswinging Yorker]

Imaam's batting is excellent therapy for those who have trouble sleeping.

 

[gazza619]

Imam is very good for our standards and is easily the best Pakistani opener at the moment, but you cannot compare our batsmen with India’s.

Someone like Prithvi Shaw is already 5 times better than Imam and 10 times better than Fakhar, and they keep producing them.

Numbers speak louder than words.

When I see Prithvi averaging 5 times more than Imam in international cricket then I shall believe.

Agree Imam is the best we got, but we can ill afford two openers who play the same way. Need a dasher to partner him going forward.

 

[AdamM97]

Numbers speak louder than words.

When I see Prithvi averaging 5 times more than Imam in international cricket then I shall believe.

Agree Imam is the best we got, but we can ill afford two openers who play the same way. Need a dasher to partner him going forward.

Prithvi has a good domestic record and is only 20 being 3 years younger than Imam. You can't compare them, same as you can't compare Babar to Kohli either. Prithvi has potential but we'll have to see him play International cricket before you can actually start judging their performances.

 

[Mamoon]

Numbers speak louder than words.

When I see Prithvi averaging 5 times more than Imam in international cricket then I shall believe.

Agree Imam is the best we got, but we can ill afford two openers who play the same way. Need a dasher to partner him going forward.

They will. You can keep a track of their performances in Tests from today and in ODIs in a few years when Shaw replaces Dhawan. Shaw and Imam do not belong to the same tier.

 

[RajBan]

Just play him for a series in a team of Shaw, Agarwal, Gill, Iyer. Will be interesting to see where he stands.

 

[RajBan]

Numbers speak louder than words.

When I see Prithvi averaging 5 times more than Imam in international cricket then I shall believe.

Agree Imam is the best we got, but we can ill afford two openers who play the same way. Need a dasher to partner him going forward.

Talent wise Shaw is far ahead. It needs to be seen whether Shaw will get consistent chance. He has picked couple of successive injuries which is not a good sign.

Imam is better than KL at this moment though.

 

[The streak is Alive]

Imam is better than KL at this moment though.

Lol...based on what exactly? Take a look at their respective WC performances.

There is no comparison when it comes to range of shots as well. The only Pakistan batter better than KL is Babar atm.

 

[jnaveen1980]

After this thread Rahul has got a 100. Please someone open Imam vs Dhoni.

 

[nik45hil]

After this thread Rahul has got a 100. Please someone open Imam vs Dhoni.

Sarfaraz vs Dhoni

 

[sweep_shot]

Both have unorthodox techniques but I say Imam is better.

 

[rhony]

Both players are best for their teams. Rahul has more flair and should be ready to bat at 3 or 4. He seems boggled and low on confidence. Imam is key for Pak because the other opener in Pak is a hack. Once people get off Imam's back, I think he can express himself better. He's been fighting to justify his place even after being one of the best Pak opening batsmen in a few years

 

[Sin Nombre]

After this thread Rahul has got a 100. Please someone open Imam vs Dhoni.

This was after his 100 today when he got out; see the highest score of 111 in the screenshot at the top.

 

[Revolution]

After this thread Rahul has got a 100. Please someone open Imam vs Dhoni.

Lol

 

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

We've not seen what KL is capable of, yet.

We kind of have, in T20Is at least. When on song, he plays some outrageous shots that makes your marvel him the same way you would Sharma or Kohli. He should've been given a consistent run in ODIs at least since the England tour last year. Dropping him has dented his confidence and he hasn't quite been the same since. He needs to be back to his free-flowing self, not blocking everything to keep his place in the team.

 

[big_gamer007]

So you rate Imam?

Yes he's good player, problem is with Pakistani set up and ex players putting pressure through negativity players like imam have lost their way in the past. So you never know how it will turn out.

He should be backed and should practice find gaps and work on fitness. Talk to someone like Kohli and understand how to build an innings. Remember Kohli debuted in 2008 and became "Kohli" 2013 onwards. So imam needs to follow his path and he can be a good player.

 

[big_gamer007]

KL Rahul also bats with Rohit which takes the pressure off him. Imam bats with Fakhar who looks like he'll be dismissed every 2 balls.

When shikhar comes back KL will go back to #4. So this thread is a moot comparison anyways .

 

[shah_1]

When shikhar comes back KL will go back to #4. So this thread is a moot comparison anyways .

What if KL Rahul wins the WC for India, then it won't be easy for Dhawan to take the spot back.

 

[big_gamer007]

What if KL Rahul wins the WC for India, then it won't be easy for Dhawan to take the spot back.

Then shastri and selectors will continue for few more years and Dhawan is on good terms with team management so he will come back to openers spot and KL dropped down to #4..

KL still doesn't give that confidence for some reason even after scoring a 100 he seems 1 ball away from getting out and looks nervous. Hopefully he can turn it on in knockouts and announce his arrival to the big league.

 

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

Then shastri and selectors will continue for few more years and Dhawan is on good terms with team management so he will come back to openers spot and KL dropped down to #4.

If KL Rahul does well in the knockouts, I can imagine Kohli dropping down to 4 to accommodate Rahul at 3 just like he does in T20Is. While you can't take him seriously, Shastri did say before the World Cup that they would consider batting Kohli at 4 to lengthen the top order by keeping your best batsmen lower down to stabilise the innings in case of a collapse.