The great Pujara v. Kohli v. Rahane debate

[Furball]

edit: better comparison for Kohli might be KP.

I made that comparison months ago.

 

[Flem274*]

I made that comparison months ago.

i don't read your posts ****

 

[Teja.]

This might be a biased opinion like all subjective opinions are but Rahane's drives are exquisite, IMO and if anything he is a little too attacking vs. short pitched bowling.

He's definitely not a grinder. In his awesome Lords innings, he took time to settle in for his first 50 runs but got the next 50 at run a ball. He also scored a 96 (150) in very tough conditions in SA. He's a really complete, attacking batsman.

Rahane being circumspect so far in the initial phases of his innings is largely a function of the conditions he has faced so far in his career. Despite that, he still has a better test (and FC) strike rate than both Kohli and Pujara.

 

[Flem274*]

The Jones comparison wasn't really about style since Jones was such a weirdo when batting, but more about "bloke who has an average within one run of Martin Crowe and gets forgotten about because he wasn't the best in his own team".

Rahane is pretty stylish.

 

[Cabinet96]

This might be a biased opinion like all subjective opinions are but Rahane's drives are exquisite, IMO and if anything he is a little too attacking vs. short pitched bowling.

He's definitely not a grinder. In his awesome Lords innings, he took time to settle in for his first 50 runs but got the next 50 at run a ball. He also scored a 96 (150) in very tough conditions in SA. He's a really complete, attacking batsman.

Rahane being circumspect so far in the initial phases of his innings is largely a function of the conditions he has faced so far in his career. Despite that, he still has a better test (and FC) strike rate than both Kohli and Pujara.

Off both feet as well. I really like him and Kohli but I definitely find Pujara the harder one to evaluate. Has the record so far but he just doesn't look as good IMO.

 

[dermo]

kohli has the most potential by far but remains to be seen if he will fully deliver on it or not, could be anything

 

[NasserFan207]

Too much emphasis being placed on 'style' here. Graeme Hick was a stylish batter, it actually means little. Mentality/work ethic means far more when it comes to test cricket.

I agree with the KP/Kohli comparison, biggest similarity is ego. Both want to bat for days and be the center of attention.

 

[Teja.]

Too much emphasis being placed on 'style' here. Graeme Hick was a stylish batter, it actually means little. Mentality/work ethic means far more when it comes to test cricket.

I made that post because I thought Phlegm was implying Rahane was a boring/non-remarkable batsman - which certainly isn't the case. He wasn't though.

 

[Daemon]

It's only right that the second best batsman ever is also from Mumbai, so my vote goes to Rahane.

 

[CricAddict]

Dravid:Pujara::Tendulkar:Kohli::Laxman:Rahane

 

[Jassy]

I am a little surprised at how much Pujara's stocks have fallen. Before this series most people would have had him ahead of the other two; now he seems to be 3rd in most lists.I think Kohli is the best against pace and bounce out of the three and Pujara the worst(relatively speaking of course). When there is swing on offer for the bowlers it is probably Rahane>Pujara>Kohli.

Rahane will have the best career I think 50+ avg, 10k runs, good record in most places.
Pujara will have a few gun tours outside the SC but struggle in others and end up with a fair away record and a gun home record. He'll finish with as good an overall record as Rahane but his home/away split won't be as good (despite still being acceptable).
Kohli will play the most amazing innings all around the world and have a lot of memorable and significant innings in difficult conditions but he won't make many big daddy hundreds in favourable conditions to end up with a particularly high average.

 

[Jono]

I am a little surprised at how much Pujara's stocks have fallen. Before this series most people would have had him ahead of the other two; now he seems to be 3rd in most lists.

Haha yeah, mix of the bloke being out of form and Rahane really impressing lately.

 

[Spark]

Rahane will be the best batsman in the world in 3 years time. He reminds of me Dravid even more than Pujara.

Yeah, same. Way, way closer aesthetically.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Kohli will come good soon.

Haven't seen much of the other two although I did see Rahena against RSA and looked impressive.

 

[Teja.]

Haha yeah, mix of the bloke being out of form and Rahane really impressing lately.

To be fair, a lot of people backing Rahane are saying he'll have the better career compared to Pujara not that he's been better short term and I'd have said the same pre-series.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Kohli will come good soon.

This forum is filthy

 

[uvelocity]

they all suck

 

[Raffski]

At present, it's Rahane for me but should all players play to their potential throughout their careers I think Kohli would end up being the best of them, and by some margin. I think in a lot of ways Pujara's tour has been even more disappointing than Kohli's- Kohli just looks out of form and that happens, but Pujara has spent a lot of the time at the crease and looked set on a number of occasions before getting out loosely, which is troubling for someone who's made a name for himself based on having the right temperament and good concentration.

I think really India should count themselves lucky to have what looks like another quality batting lineup for the future.

 

[cnerd123]

Dravid:Pujara::Tendulkar:Kohli::Laxman:Rahane

Was coming here to say the same.

I think Rahane's career will eclipse Laxman and Kohli may fall slightly short of Sachin (he's not going to be the second best batsman of all time after Bradman), but these comparisons feel pretty apt.

EDIT: Don't mean Aesthetically ftr; just the kind of roles they will play and the careers they will have (Pujara the wall, Kohli the aggressive one people want to see, and Rahane the one with the match winning/match saving innings in tricky conditions)

 

[Cabinet96]

How lucky are India though? Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman only ended 2 and a half years ago and they've already seemingly replaced them for the next five years plus.