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Kumar Sangakkara, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis : Who is the best out of the three?

Hasan123

Hasan123

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3 fantastic batsmen.Who do you think is the best out of the 3?

For me it's

Sangakara
Kallis
Dravid
 
Kallis
Dravid
Sangakkara

One has to consider that Kallis had to come up and bowl good amount of overs too. Not easy to then go and put your 100% while batting.
 
Kallis and Dravid were better than Sanga. Between those two, I will take Kallis.
 
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Looked at Kallis test record and it's brilliant. He doesn't get talked about a lot, whilst I have Sanga ahead. I don't disagree with Kallis being rated higher by some people.
 
Dravid's peak was the best. But overall, I would take Kallis.
 
Hasan123 said:
3 fantastic batsmen.Who do you think is the best out of the 3?

For me it's

Sangakara
Kallis
Dravid
Click to expand...

It's a good comparison because the one of the biggest things all three have in common is that they are incredibly underrated, you have fans whom will advocate Kohli's greatness over them which is absurd. I'd be leaning towards Kallis, he really bought his A game in foreign conditions not that the others have done terribly but he edges it for me. If Kallis were an Englishman, Aussie or Indian/Pak he'd be advocated as the undisputed GOAT; the man was one hell of a Test Batsman, one of the ATG's and as an A/R I have him up there with the likes of Gary Sobers and Imran Khan.
 
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As Batsmen, Dravid and Sanga were better than Kallis. Personally for me I put Dravid ahead of Sanga because of his last England tour where he single handedly carried the Indian batting line up.

Kallis as a batsman is grossly over-rated. He was an inconsequential batsman. Not as good as either Dravid or Sanga.
 
Hasan123 said:
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Click to expand...


For Me.


As a Cricketer Overall Kallis.

As a Test Batsman Kallis.

As a Test + Odi Batsman Sangakara.


But I consider Dravid as a Great Cricketer, Great Batsman, Great Sportsman and a Great Ambassador. If he had slight better last 2-3 years in Test Cricket than i might have placed him ahead of Kallis as a Test Batsman.


Waisay it was a tough question as you asked about 3 Great players.
 
As pure batsmen

Kallis

Dravid

Sanga

But in a clutch situation i would take Dravid over either of them.
 
shaz619 said:
It's a good comparison because the one of the biggest things all three have in common is that they are incredibly underrated, you have fans whom will advocate Kohli's greatness over them which is absurd. I'd be leaning towards Kallis, he really bought his A game in foreign conditions not that the others have done terribly but he edges it for me. If Kallis were an Englishman, Aussie or Indian/Pak he'd be advocated as the undisputed GOAT; the man was one hell of a Test Batsman, one of the ATG's and as an A/R I have him up there with the likes of Gary Sobers and Imran Khan.
Click to expand...


Kallis is a fantastic test batsmen who doesn't get talked about often for whatever reason. Maybe your right if he was from another country he would get hyped more.

I wouldn't put him up there with Imran and sobers but a fantastic player nonetheless.
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
For Me.


As a Cricketer Overall Kallis.

As a Test Batsman Kallis.

As a Test + Odi Batsman Sangakara.


But I consider Dravid as a Great Cricketer, Great Batsman, Great Sportsman and a Great Ambassador. If he had slight better last 2-3 years in Test Cricket than i might have placed him ahead of Kallis as a Test Batsman.


Waisay it was a tough question as you asked about 3 Great players.
Click to expand...

Thread is about there batting only bhai. Sanga is definitely a better odi batsmen than both but in tests is very close. I went with sanga as in his best years he was the main run getter for Lanka and he had an inferior team as well. Even at age 37/38 he was scoring in England.

I know it's tough hence the thread :)
 
Hasan123 said:
Kallis is a fantastic test batsmen who doesn't get talked about often for whatever reason. Maybe your right if he was from another country he would get hyped more.

I wouldn't put him up there with Imran and sobers but a fantastic player nonetheless.
Click to expand...

Why not? his numbers are on the level of Bradman's 99 which overcomes all the discrepancies when it comes to the distinct era's
 
Hasan123 said:
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Click to expand...

As a Cricketer, Jaques - he was 3 in One. A very solid batsman, very good support bowler (probably closest to what you can get as a non specialist bowler) & a brilliant slip fielder.

In between Rahul & Sanga, I'll pick Sanga slightly ahead, again because of his multi skills. Besides, Rahul & Jaques were batsmen in same mold - very good defense, technique & temperament, while Sanga was more flamboyant, skilled & dynamic.

As a batsman alone, it's really difficult, but I probably'll pick Rahul slightly ahead or Jaques, though his stats are poorest of the 3 but, he was my ideal No. 3. Sanga as a pure batsman was outstanding - different type than other 2. If I am to pick one simply as batsman, I probably will pick Sanga, without his WK.

In ODI Sanga is comfortably ahead of the other 2, for the impact of his game as No. 3 batsman & WK.

I like Test cricket, therefore as a player (not batsman), my order will be Jaques, Kumar, Rahul.
 
Kallis hands down as a cricketer. As a pure batsman, Sangakaara.
 
Would take Dravid as a batsman. Kallis was good but just couldn't become my favorite.

And not as good as Dravid in Tests Specially.
 
shaz619 said:
Why not? his numbers are on the level of Bradman's 99 which overcomes all the discrepancies when it comes to the distinct era's
Click to expand...

His numbers are great but in LO don't think he had enough impact and he should have performed better in icc tournaments. In tests can't deny Kallis had impact in all 3 departments.
 
MMHS said:
As a Cricketer, Jaques - he was 3 in One. A very solid batsman, very good support bowler (probably closest to what you can get as a non specialist bowler) & a brilliant slip fielder.

In between Rahul & Sanga, I'll pick Sanga slightly ahead, again because of his multi skills. Besides, Rahul & Jaques were batsmen in same mold - very good defense, technique & temperament, while Sanga was more flamboyant, skilled & dynamic.

As a batsman alone, it's really difficult, but I probably'll pick Rahul slightly ahead or Jaques, though his stats are poorest of the 3 but, he was my ideal No. 3. Sanga as a pure batsman was outstanding - different type than other 2. If I am to pick one simply as batsman, I probably will pick Sanga, without his WK.

In ODI Sanga is comfortably ahead of the other 2, for the impact of his game as No. 3 batsman & WK.

I like Test cricket, therefore as a player (not batsman), my order will be Jaques, Kumar, Rahul.
Click to expand...

This thread is specifically about there batting.

Agreed sanga is better in Odis than both but in tests is close. I would go with Sanga ahead of Kallis but understand why you went with Kallis. His best test innings are hardly mentioned which is a shame.
 
Hasan123 said:
His numbers are great but in LO don't think he had enough impact and he should have performed better in icc tournaments. In tests can't deny Kallis had impact in all 3 departments.
Click to expand...

Am talking about Tests, he's up there with those names
 
Another thing which is not spoken of as much was that besides batting and bowling he was a brilliant fielder! one of the safest pair of hands ever in the slip cordon
 
Hasan123 said:
Not up there with Lara and Sachin but after them he's up there.
Click to expand...

He's up there with Imran and Sobers as an A/R and as a batsman he is above Sachin and below Lara, Viv. However, up there with everyone else
 
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Kallis is the best out of the three and comfortably as well. Played his home matches on pitches that were far tougher than anything Dravid and Sanga encountered on their own pitches.
 
Kallis easily. Sanga is very good but he is a bit of a minnow basher and Lankan wickets are known to be the flat. He also became really really good in the era after Kallis where the quality of bowlers dropped. Dravid was outstanding but Kallis was a legend
 
kallis is better batsman tgan sanga and dravid in tests as well as in odi.
actually in test kallis is better than lara and ponting but below sachin in test.
 
If I was captain would choose Rahul Dravid for sure.
 
Kallis, Dravid, and Sanga are the 3 cricketers I respect and admire the most in the modern era.

It is very difficult to pick one but I will give it to Kallis in tests and Sanga in ODIs.
 
So just to remove bias, people should not vote who is from the same country as players.

Kallis > Sanga
 
As cricketers obviously Kallis comfortably ahead and then Sanga followed by Dravid. As batsmen alone tho Sanga quite easily over both for mine. Skill-wise Kallis and Dravid were a bit more limited and statistically Sanga is ahead as well. Averaged around 53 overall and 60 minus the gloves against the top six while Kallis averaged just under 50 and Dravid around 48. In LOIs it’s not even a contest really. Out of Kallis and Dravid while Kallis is probably the better bat statistically his batting was just so dull and boring so I would have them on level pegging overall.

As for all this pitches talk obviously you would expect most if not all the top bats to pile on the runs at home in familiar conditions. Apart from SSC rest of the SL wickets have generally been very sporting wickets actually. Which is why historically non-SC teams for example have done well with the ball in SL for the most part. Also it’s funny how the same “flat SL pitches” magically transform into dustbowls when talking about Murali/Herath. Go figure. Both Kallis and Dravid for example averaged in the low to mid 30s in SL btw.
 
It's impossible to say. Sanga had more skill with the bat, but faced weaker opposition and wasn't tested as much. Dravid faced the toughest challenges and had many iconic knocks whilst Kallis was more consistently good and seemed to set up more wins.
 
For me Dravid, he has played some very good innings: Eden Gardens 2001, England 2002, Australia 03/04, Jamaica 2006 and was instrumental in most of India's famous test wins and faced some of the toughest bowlers: Steyn, Donald, Pollock, Murali, Warne, McGrath, Ambrose, Walsh, Wasim etc.

His odi record is great too, leading run scorer I believe in 99 world cup, played well in 03 world cup and was India's mr reliable, mr consistent for a long, long time.

Kallis is also a great test player.
 
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stats, records, temperament don't matter to me...Rahul Dravid was a level above these guys
 
SL_Fan said:
As cricketers obviously Kallis comfortably ahead and then Sanga followed by Dravid. As batsmen alone tho Sanga quite easily over both for mine. Skill-wise Kallis and Dravid were a bit more limited and statistically Sanga is ahead as well. Averaged around 53 overall and 60 minus the gloves against the top six while Kallis averaged just under 50 and Dravid around 48. In LOIs it’s not even a contest really. Out of Kallis and Dravid while Kallis is probably the better bat statistically his batting was just so dull and boring so I would have them on level pegging overall.

As for all this pitches talk obviously you would expect most if not all the top bats to pile on the runs at home in familiar conditions. Apart from SSC rest of the SL wickets have generally been very sporting wickets actually. Which is why historically non-SC teams for example have done well with the ball in SL for the most part. Also it’s funny how the same “flat SL pitches” magically transform into dustbowls when talking about Murali/Herath. Go figure. Both Kallis and Dravid for example averaged in the low to mid 30s in SL btw.
Click to expand...

Are you excluding WI ? I think Kallis/Dravid faced Ambrose/Walsh during the early part of their career ( and did really well). That attack was better than most attacks Sanga faced as a pure batsman so its unfair to exclude WI completely. WI became a borderline minnow bowling attack post 2002.

In both formats combined, i would go for Sangakkara just by a whisker. The three are pretty close though.
 
I am little biased towards dravid but purely as a batsman sangakarra is the pick and then dravid.kallis was a regular contributer than the other two but haven't seen him singlehandedly turn the game on its head.
 
Dead Ball said:
Are you excluding WI ? I think Kallis/Dravid faced Ambrose/Walsh during the early part of their career ( and did really well). That attack was better than most attacks Sanga faced as a pure batsman so its unfair to exclude WI completely. WI became a borderline minnow bowling attack post 2002.

In both formats combined, i would go for Sangakkara just by a whisker. The three are pretty close though.
Click to expand...

I’m talking about the top six bowling sides the three of them faced so WI over SL pre 2000 and SL replacing WI post 2000.
 
Sangakkara has amazing stats, but I always felt he had an "On" period and "Off" period. As someone said I think he took on the minnows and made it big! But definitely he was good to watch and reliable (especially as he had an additional role of wicket-keeping & also captaincy).

Between Dravid & Kallis, though Kallis was classy, I think Kallis was supported by a good rounded South African team with good openers, middle order and bowling unit (barring spin). So he could play more freely (though not an excuse really). Dravid was a virtual opener for good part of his career and also at times he has only Sachin to support (Laxman & Sehwag eased him out later). I am sure if he had that solid Indian lineup (comprising fab 5) in the early part of his career, it would have impacted his career like anything. His style of cricket would have also changed (he would have attacked a bit more), because of the weak batting line up I think he practiced lot of blocking (partly I agree that it suited him).
 
^ Dravid and weak batting lineup shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence.

He was actually a part of a very strong lineup comprising of Tendulkar, Ganguly, Sehwag and Laxman.

The latter two came a few years later but still Tendulkar and Ganguly( avgs 49 in 90s) were there going very strong.

However, I do agree that when the chips were down or when other big guns missed out, Dravid still stood out as a WALL plenty of times..
 
Actually these 3 need not be compared! One is batsman, other is alrounder and then a wicket-keeping batsman! Dravid really had that immense pressure of "virtual opener" and "mainstay shield" for most part of his career which other 2 didn't have!

But in ODIs I agree Dravid was way behind these two (the comparison should not even come! Better to bring somebody like Ganguly or anybody into equation!) Dravid had to wear wicket-keeper gloves to remain in ODI side in the latter part of his career while he was in the team during his first part as an old-fashioned batsman without proper alternates in the Indian Team.
 
Ab Fan said:
^ Dravid and weak batting lineup shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence.

He was actually a part of a very strong lineup comprising of Tendulkar, Ganguly, Sehwag and Laxman.

The latter two came a few years later but still Tendulkar and Ganguly( avgs 49 in 90s) were there going very strong.

However, I do agree that when the chips were down or when other big guns missed out, Dravid still stood out as a WALL plenty of times..
Click to expand...

You should take some important periods into consideration. I already told it was pre Laxman, pre Sehwag, era! Yes Sachin was there that's it (and you know before Dravid, Sachin was also alone almost! Cricket is a team of 11 players you know!) Ganguly was never consistent in Test Cricket (except some bright patches). In that period Dravid was virtual opener and further he had the headache of playing all the way with the tail (whenever Sachin got out!) That was the "Indian Test Batting suit" for most times those days! Even with Laxman (who was similar to Ganguly whose reliability didn't last for long in test matches), Dravid continued to feel that pressure (it was only after Sehwag I think when he felt totally secured! If Sehwag was present in early part of Dravid's career, things would have been so nice not only for Dravid, but for Indian Test Cricket on the whole!)
 
RamLakhan said:
Actually these 3 need not be compared! One is batsman, other is alrounder and then a wicket-keeping batsman! Dravid really had that immense pressure of "virtual opener" and "mainstay shield" for most part of his career which other 2 didn't have!

But in ODIs I agree Dravid was way behind these two (the comparison should not even come! Better to bring somebody like Ganguly or anybody into equation!) Dravid had to wear wicket-keeper gloves to remain in ODI side in the latter part of his career while he was in the team during his first part as an old-fashioned batsman without proper alternates in the Indian Team.
Click to expand...

I am talking of tests here. Dravid had a solid defence and temperament and was suited the best to no.3 position or that virtual opener position as you already said. But I am not too sure of how much pressure thing it is.

It was his task and not an added responsibility to be the mainstay shield for his team when India suffers an early breakthrough. That was completely his responsibility and he stood up nicely for his team most of the time.

Also Kallis and Sanga( batted at 3 in a weaker team to what Dravid had) had their responsibilities in the team and again were all-rounders and wkt-keepers respectively too.So they had that extra work to do apart from their batting.
 
RamLakhan said:
You should take some important periods into consideration. I already told it was pre Laxman, pre Sehwag, era! Yes Sachin was there that's it (and you know before Dravid, Sachin was also alone almost! Cricket is a team of 11 players you know!) Ganguly was never consistent in Test Cricket (except some bright patches). In that period Dravid was virtual opener and further he had the headache of playing all the way with the tail (whenever Sachin got out!) That was the "Indian Test Batting suit" for most times those days! Even with Laxman (who was similar to Ganguly whose reliability didn't last for long in test matches), Dravid continued to feel that pressure (it was only after Sehwag I think when he felt totally secured! If Sehwag was present in early part of Dravid's career, things would have been so nice not only for Dravid, but for Indian Test Cricket on the whole!)
Click to expand...

Ganguly was very good even in tests in early phase of his career.

He avgs 49 till 99 which is the same as what Dravid averaged. It was after taking the captaincy that he started concentrating more on that and his batting lacked the consistency.

So a lineup of Dravid, SRT, Ganguly can't be said as a weak lineup by any means.
 
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Ab Fan said:
Ganguly was very good even in tests in early phase of his career.

He avgs 49 till 99 which is the same as what Dravid averaged. It was after taking the captaincy that he started concentrating more on that and his batting lacked the consistency.

So a lineup of Dravid, SRT, Ganguly can't be said as a weak lineup by any means.
Click to expand...

If not weak it was definitely fragile. Any strong team should have strong openers (That's what strong Australian and strong West Indies team had!) Opposition can work a way with such lineup always! That's why I say until Sehwag, Dravid did not have that assurance in the team!

Actually Dravid was in a dilemma of his role in Test Matches and ODIs. In Test Matches he was a virtual opener so he had to come & block a collapse and in ODIs actually India had best openers (Sachin/Ganguly) and it became difficult for him to maintain the rhythm set by them (more so with guys like Jadeja, Yuvaraj in the middle order who were absent in Test matches)

Dravid was not ultra-flexible and gifted guy like Kohli/Sachin/Lara. He probably needed a less confusing environment so he could do better than the likes of Kallis or Sangakkara (These 3 guys are supposed to be one level below the superior players I guess that's what even OP thinks and hence pooled them together). In Hindu terms if Kohli/Sachin/Lara are like Devas/Gods, then Kallis/Sanga/Dravid are like Rishis/sages. They may not possess the godly skills, but can overcome difficulties through determination and will-power! Probably Dravid needed that less noisy or comfortable environment to do his thapas/meditation!
 
Sanga played in the weakest batting line up of these 3.

Dravid mostly played in an ATG batting line up.
 
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