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Who is currently the best no 3 in world cricket at the moment?

mominsaigol

mominsaigol

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This thread is similar to the who is the best wicket keeper currently thread. I will rank everyone based of current form as well as their primes.

Current (World cup 2023)

1) Virat Kohli
2) Kusal Mendis
3) Ravindra
4) Van der dussan
5) Williamson
6) Joe root
7) Babar Azam
8) Steve Smith
9) Rahmat Shah
10) Colin Ackerman
11) Shanto

All time Primes

1) Virat Kohli
2) Steve Smith (2015)
3) Joe root (2019)
4) Babar Azam (2019-2021)
5) Kane Williamson (2015-2019)
6) Mendis
7) Ravindra
8) Van der dussan
9) Shanto
10) Rahmat Shah
11) Colin ackerman
 
It is difficult to look at individual batters.
And the way modern cricket is #3-4-5 work as a combo trying to achieve an outcome and not as individuals trying to pad stats for 50/90 avg/SR numbers.

IMO today the south African combo of Rassie+Markram+Klaasen is the best 3-4-5 combo in the world. All are near their peak and they dovetail brilliantly with each other to consolidate and explode as per match situation. And Markram and Klaasen can both start gunning from ball one

India too has a good setup with the brilliance of Kohli at #3 backed up by the versatility of KLR at #5 along with the spin murdering skills of Shreyas at 4. However there are some gaps - Kohli is in his endgame, Iyer has issues with the short ball and KLR is not always the fastest starter.

NZ have actually drawn up a really well balanced combo in Rachin+Mitchell+Latham. Two left handers with complementing games and all are good against spin.

England on paper had a good setup with Root+Stokes+Buttler each with experience and different skillsets but form of Root has been poor. Stokes has been absent thus forcing Brook in and failure of top order has put overt pressure on Buttler. The combo has failed badly so far.

Pak started with Babar+Rizwan+Saud combo of which Rizwan has exceeded expectations but Saud has not been groomed with enough games. The combo does not inspire much fear with explosive ability as all seem more of samey innings builders.

Australia have probably been the poorest in this world cup with Smith+Labu+Maxwell combo. Smith is in a rut of bad form and it is a terrible idea to have basically a substandard copy of him following at #4. Maxwell has been average for too long in ODIs and neither has consistency or impact anymore. Perhaps arrival of Head will push Marsh down and turn things around for Aus
 
I should have made this post before the Asia cup and not today 😂😂.

Babar and friends 11 have become a meme now. No point in discussing no 3 ranks.
 
King Kohli is the greatest ever no.3 in white ball cricket.

King Babar is the greatest ever no. 3 against Nepal, Zimbabwe and B, C teams on flat wickets of Pakistan.
 
Based on current form

  1. Virat Kohli
  2. Ravindra Rachin
  3. Shai Hope
  4. Sean Williams
  5. Kusal Mendis
  6. Rassie VD dussen
  7. Joe Root
  8. Kane Williamson
  9. Babar Azam
  10. Najmul Shanti
  11. Andrew Balbirnie
  12. Rahmat Shah
  13. Colin Ackremann
  14. Steven Smith
 
pratiktc said:
It is difficult to look at individual batters.
And the way modern cricket is #3-4-5 work as a combo trying to achieve an outcome and not as individuals trying to pad stats for 50/90 avg/SR numbers.

IMO today the south African combo of Rassie+Markram+Klaasen is the best 3-4-5 combo in the world. All are near their peak and they dovetail brilliantly with each other to consolidate and explode as per match situation. And Markram and Klaasen can both start gunning from ball one

India too has a good setup with the brilliance of Kohli at #3 backed up by the versatility of KLR at #5 along with the spin murdering skills of Shreyas at 4. However there are some gaps - Kohli is in his endgame, Iyer has issues with the short ball and KLR is not always the fastest starter.

NZ have actually drawn up a really well balanced combo in Rachin+Mitchell+Latham. Two left handers with complementing games and all are good against spin.

England on paper had a good setup with Root+Stokes+Buttler each with experience and different skillsets but form of Root has been poor. Stokes has been absent thus forcing Brook in and failure of top order has put overt pressure on Buttler. The combo has failed badly so far.

Pak started with Babar+Rizwan+Saud combo of which Rizwan has exceeded expectations but Saud has not been groomed with enough games. The combo does not inspire much fear with explosive ability as all seem more of samey innings builders.

Australia have probably been the poorest in this world cup with Smith+Labu+Maxwell combo. Smith is in a rut of bad form and it is a terrible idea to have basically a substandard copy of him following at #4. Maxwell has been average for too long in ODIs and neither has consistency or impact anymore. Perhaps arrival of Head will push Marsh down and turn things around for Aus
Click to expand...
only serious post. Rest of us are trolling lol.
Makes sense. Its not about individuals.. it's about combinations. In case of India I think Rohit has taken the mantle of enforcer with Virat as stabilizer in case things go wrong.
 
Virat prime? What did he do in ko stages of WC? Nothing much. Prime. Maybe this year he can finally prove his worth.

Number 1 choker = Virat
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rankings suggest Babar Azam. A couple of bad innings doesn't make him a bad player.
 
Viral Kohli Virat Kohli and only Virat Kohli, they guy is exceptional has corolla like transmission when coming in at 5/1, just slowly gets into groove like 20* in 28 balls, then the Mercedes effect when coming in 7th or 8th overs flowing and rotating strike, then the Maserati style crashing sixes and wreking havoc like 85* in 65 balls
 
RyanRyan10 said:
Rankings suggest Babar Azam. A couple of bad innings doesn't make him a bad player.
Click to expand...
It is actually more than a couple of innings. He has to come good in the remaining couple of games for team Pakistan to make justice with his class and talent.
 
At no.3 In test since 2021 (min 500 runs)
Player Mat Runs Avg SR 100 50
KS Williamson (NZ) 12 1223 71.94 51.21 5 1
M Labuschagne (AUS) 26 2149 51.16 51.84 7 7
OJ Pope (ENG) 15 1086 45.25 77.84 3 5
BKG Mendis (SL) 14 855 40.71 60.46 2 5
Azhar Ali (PAK) 15 933 40.56 43.98 2 4
Najmul Hossain Shanto (BAN) 17 952 32.82 56.29 4 1
CA Pujara (IND) 22 1143 31.75 38.85 1 9
KD Petersen (SA) 10 503 29.58 52.07 0 3

At no.3 In ODI since 2021 (min 500 runs)
Player Mat Runs Avg SR 100 50
Babar Azam (PAK) 38 2045 56.8 89.96 7 15
V Kohli (IND) 34 1480 51.03 96.98 5 10
SPD Smith (AUS) 21 812 47.76 83.02 1 6
M van Lingen (NAM) 23 857 45.1 92.34 4 2
HE van der Dussen (SA) 21 884 42.09 92.17 4 2
V Aravind (UAE) 34 1299 41.9 73.68 2 6
BKG Mendis (SL) 34 1117 39.89 91.78 1 8
Rahmat Shah (AFG) 29 1077 39.88 72.81 1 9
MD Patel (USA) 30 1054 36.34 85.27 2 7
A Balbirnie (IRE) 25 675 32.14 71.12 1 5
Najmul Hossain Shanto (BAN) 25 740 30.83 80.26 1 5
SSJ Brooks (WI) 20 581 30.57 75.45 1 2
G Malla (NEP) 24 602 26.17 65.57 0 5
 
Both number 3 batter today in Pakistan vs New Zealand made very handy contributions for their team. Williamson only played two matches in this World Cup and in both matches he looked really good.
 
I know he opened the batting today but by the far the best #3 I’ve seen in this tournament is Rachin Ravindra. Pure class and really good against spin.
 
Won a bunch of games while batting first and chasing. Can't look beyond Kohli on this one
 
ex-q-zit said:
So what has Rassie won for SA for far? Surely I guess you would use the same yardstick to measure his performance as with others.
Click to expand...
Today will decide who it is between rassie and kohli
 
mominsaigol said:
This thread is similar to the who is the best wicket keeper currently thread. I will rank everyone based of current form as well as their primes.

Current (World cup 2023)

1) Virat Kohli
2) Kusal Mendis
3) Ravindra
4) Van der dussan
5) Williamson
6) Joe root
7) Babar Azam
8) Steve Smith
9) Rahmat Shah
10) Colin Ackerman
11) Shanto

All time Primes

1) Virat Kohli
2) Steve Smith (2015)
3) Joe root (2019)
4) Babar Azam (2019-2021)
5) Kane Williamson (2015-2019)
6) Mendis
7) Ravindra
8) Van der dussan
9) Shanto
10) Rahmat Shah
11) Colin ackerman
Click to expand...
Updated ranking as of 2023 wc

1) Kohli
2) Ravindra
3) Williamson
4) Van der dussan
5) Mendis
6) Marsh
7) Babar azam
8) Steve Smith
9) Rahmat Shah
10) Root
11) Shanto
12) Colin aackerman

Prime

1) Kohli
2) Steve Smith
3) Root
4) Williamson
5) Ravindra
6) Van der dussan
7) Mitchell Marsh
8) Babar azam
9) Mendis
10) Rahmat Shah
11) Shanto
12) Colin ackerman
 
Never go by recency bias. Virat Kohli is best number 3 ever. Period!
 
Babar is at the top with excellent average and as expected, Virat is also there. Rehmat has been phenomenal for his team as well.

1699343713631.png
 
Now that he is free of captaincy, just a matter of time before King Babar becomes the best no. 3
 
Yes kohli has more runs currently, but Babar has a better average. Also, Babar has to carry the Pakistani batting, while Kohli plays second fiddle to more aggressive batsman like rohit, shreyas iyer and Surya.



Matter of time before Babar takes over Kohli and Sachin in total ODI runs
 
Messiah said:
Yes kohli has more runs currently, but Babar has a better average. Also, Babar has to carry the Pakistani batting, while Kohli plays second fiddle to more aggressive batsman like rohit, shreyas iyer and Surya.



Matter of time before Babar takes over Kohli and Sachin in total ODI runs
Click to expand...
Absolutely. Babar has to be the greatest no. 3 ever. We saw his batting in WC. It is just not the runs he mad but the way he made them. True king.
 
Hitman said:
He is on par with Viv Richards as the best ever #3.
Click to expand...
This thread is not about the best ever, it is about the best No. at the moment. For me, that will be Virat surely. His impact is much more than anybody else in the world right now.
 
Based on this World Cup at least , it has to be


1. Rachin
2. Kohli
3. Van der Dussen
4. Babar

KW and Marsh haven't played enough at #3 but their numbers are impressive too
 
Based on the recent form i will pick three for the ODIs

Virat Kohli
Van Dar Dussen
Rachin Ravindra
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Based on this World Cup at least , it has to be


1. Rachin
2. Kohli
3. Van der Dussen
4. Babar

KW and Marsh haven't played enough at #3 but their numbers are impressive too
Click to expand...
Same list for me. Kohli could be #1 if you’re looking for an anchor role, but Rachin played a bit more dynamically, so if the team is already strong I’d pick him.
 
I would love to say Babar Azam but considering his recent form i wont pick him


Probably Virat Kohli is the best Number 3 right now
 
Cricket Warrior said:
I will place VK at number 4 and put Babar at 3, as Babar can play the newish ball better than VK.
Click to expand...
No he can't. VK is superior by miles at playing new ball and spin.

Babar plays medium better though, due to his cover drive.
 
mominsaigol said:
No he can't. VK is superior by miles at playing new ball and spin.

Babar plays medium better though, due to his cover drive.
Click to expand...
Babar tends to struggle against spin but not so much against pace but yeah Virat plays spin better than Babar that is the reason why i placed him at #4.
 
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