Pujara /Kohli /Rahane /Rahul - who is best test batsman of India?

[Silva]

I remember hearing laxman saying Vijays only flaw is he doesnt rotate the strike and pick up many runs between the wickets. That makes sense because so often he negotiates the new ball brilliantly but end up getting out for under 20 playing a risky stroke.

[Tibarn]

Rahane and I don't think it is close: he has respectable averages in every country, he has essentially scored a century in every country, and he plays well in pressure situations with a number of great knocks in tough situations. He does this despite being the last specialist batsman in our lineup basically every match. Also, of our speicalist batsmen, he comes in at the hardest time to bat in India, which somewhat explains his lower average at home, which is only slightly below 40. 

 

My favorite aspect of is batting though, is that he is so unselfish. If the team needs him to start scoring rapidly from ball 1, he will attack from ball 1. If he was a record obsessed, selfish player like Manju, I'd wager his averages would be a few ticks higher.  

 

areer averages

	Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	0	4s	6s
overall	2013-2017	39	67	9	2792	188	48.13	5240	53.28	9	12	4	319	23	Profile

Career summary

Grouping	Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	0	4s	6s
v Australia	2013-2017	9	17	2	605	147	40.33	1068	56.64	1	3	1	76	3
v Bangladesh	2015-2017	2	3	0	208	98	69.33	271	76.75	0	2	0	27	1
v England	2014-2016	8	15	1	362	103	25.85	757	47.82	1	2	2	45	1
v New Zealand	2014-2016	5	9	1	509	188	63.62	929	54.79	2	1	0	60	5
v South Africa	2013-2015	6	10	2	475	127	59.37	958	49.58	2	2	0	51	10
v Sri Lanka	2015-2017	5	9	1	390	132	48.75	735	53.06	2	1	1	37	0
v West Indies	2016-2016	4	4	2	243	108*	121.50	522	46.55	1	1	0	23	3
in Australia	2014-2015	4	8	1	399	147	57.00	628	63.53	1	2	1	52	0
in Bangladesh	2015-2015	1	1	0	98	98	98.00	103	95.14	0	1	0	14	0
in England	2014-2014	5	10	1	299	103	33.22	590	50.67	1	2	1	40	1
in India	2013-2017	16	28	3	992	188	39.68	1971	50.32	3	3	1	102	16
in New Zealand	2014-2014	2	3	0	162	118	54.00	249	65.06	1	0	0	22	1
in South Africa	2013-2013	2	4	1	209	96	69.66	442	47.28	0	2	0	29	2
in Sri Lanka	2015-2017	5	9	1	390	132	48.75	735	53.06	2	1	1	37	0
in West Indies	2016-2016	4	4	2	243	108*	121.50	522	46.55	1	1	0	23	3

[Samcric]

At home (and WI/SL) - has to be Pujara. Kohli, in my view, has become a very good player of spin (was definitely the best vs. England) and had a forgettable series against Aus when he shouldered arms two times to the spinners. but played the spinners with relative ease over the entire home season. Rahane, on the other hand looked in trouble - starting from santner to rashid to moeen until he played that crucial innings with Pujara in Bangalore to turn around the Aus series.

 

Outside India (Aus/Eng/SA/NZ) - sample size is less so we will possibly be able to decide in 2019. Pujara did well in South Africa and failed in Eng/Aus. Kohli failed in Eng, did well in Aus. Rahane would possibly be the best as of now.

[bowl_out]

In Asia - Pujara

outside Asia - Rahane

[Sandeep99]

The man, the legend Chateshwar Pujara. Lovely lovely batsman and a wonderful human being, not that it matters in the context of the thread.

 

In order of merit, here's how I rate Indian batsmen -

 

1. Pujara - Yes, still needs to score more overseas, but this time around, he should do well.

2. Kohli - Still suspect outside off stump, but you can bank on him more often than not to grind it out and make consistent runs.

3. Rahul - Extremely consistent and game changer. He has that special knack for scoring 'tough runs' and this will help India ecuring advantage when we travel overseas for tougher assignments. I expect him to move up this ladder by the end of India's overseas tours.

4. Rahane - Good batsman, but very inconsistent. Somehow feel he goes missing in 'tough situations'. But he one of the best India has to offer.

 

 

[BeautifulGame]

Has anyone realised how good Dhawan is in Asia?

 

13 tests 65-average with 5 hundreds.I know the sample size is small but He could very well be one of our  best bat in Asia behind Pujara.

 

Maybe we have to pick Vijay overseas and Dhawan in Asia

[BeautifulGame]

2 hours ago, Sandeep99 said:

.

4. Rahane - Good batsman, but very inconsistent. Somehow feel he goes missing in 'tough situations'. But he one of the best India has to offer.

 

 

Its the reverse with Rahane isnt it.He always comes to the rescue when in tough situations i think.Lords and Bangalore 2nd inns come to mind.

[jusarrived]

2 hours ago, Sandeep99 said:

The man, the legend Chateshwar Pujara. Lovely lovely batsman and a wonderful human being, not that it matters in the context of the thread.

 

In order of merit, here's how I rate Indian batsmen -

 

1. Pujara - Yes, still needs to score more overseas, but this time around, he should do well.

2. Kohli - Still suspect outside off stump, but you can bank on him more often than not to grind it out and make consistent runs.

3. Rahul - Extremely consistent and game changer. He has that special knack for scoring 'tough runs' and this will help India ecuring advantage when we travel overseas for tougher assignments. I expect him to move up this ladder by the end of India's overseas tours.

4. Rahane - Good batsman, but very inconsistent. Somehow feel he goes missing in 'tough situations'. But he one of the best India has to offer.

 

 

Actually he does go missing when its easy . Hes been inconsistent at  home , but if you look at his good scores its when the team has needed him to deliver . He was our best bat overseas , but even there he stood out in England series where the conditions where toughest . 

In Tests when you play lower than 4 , you are at a disadvantage cos you dont get enough opportunities to score big on flat pitches . 

 

And I dont agree Pujara is our best bat , hes failed overseas and that definitely should go against him at this point . Cant put him on top based on assumptions that he would do well next time . if we are using that logics , Dhawan would find himself somewhere in the Top3 

[jusarrived]

3 minutes ago, BeautifulGame said:

Its the reverse with Rahane isnt it.He always comes to the rescue when in tough situations i think.Lords and Bangalore 2nd inns come to mind.

 

5 minutes ago, BeautifulGame said:

Has anyone realised how good Dhawan is in Asia?

 

13 tests 65-average with 5 hundreds.I know the sample size is small but He could very well be one of our  best bat in Asia behind Pujara.

 

Maybe we have to pick Vijay overseas and Dhawan in Asia

it almost looks like I copied your points ;)

[express bowling]

9 minutes ago, jusarrived said:

 

And I dont agree Pujara is our best bat , hes failed overseas and that definitely should go against him at this point . Cant put him on top based on assumptions that he would do well next time . if we are using that logics , Dhawan would find himself somewhere in the Top3 

 

True.

 

My worry with Pujara is his front-and-across trigger movement while facing pacers.  It puts his weight on the front foot even before the ball arrives.  It is perhaps one of the reasons why he has done well on the low and slow tracks in Asia and why he has low average outside Asia.

 

Most Indian batsmen, who have done well outside Asia, have or had either back-and across trigger movements  ( Tendulkar, Rahane, Kohli )  or side and across trigger movement with their back-foot ( Gavaskar,Dravid ).  At the very least, they did not shift their weight on the front foot.

 

Maybe he will do well despite this, using his dogged determination.... but it makes it more difficult to score against pace and bounce on bouncier tracks.

[Temujin Khaghan]

technique

 

pujara > rahane > vijay > Rahul > Kohli > Dhawan > Rohit 

 

[express bowling]

18 minutes ago, Temujin Khaghan said:

technique

 

pujara > rahane > vijay > Rahul > Kohli > Dhawan > Rohit 

 

 

 

Different techniques are needed to counter pace and bounce, swing, seam and spin.

 

These batsman would rate differently for these and one list is not possible.

 

There is no-one like a Gavaskar in this team whose overall technique can be rated as the best.

[RAZPOR]

Right now they are equally good ,no clear standout.All doing well.

Big plus for us is that dhawan is looking better than he ever has,not just his game but his mindset is clear and he is enjoying his game,if he can continue this he can fill in the void of an ultra aggressive opener who can play oppositions out of the game in a session ,next year is crucial for dhawan.

Edited August 12, 2017 by RAZPOR

[Texan]

To be fair, its pretty close and at different times in the year, you could get drastically different results. Pujara would have got very low number of votes if we were in the middle of a series in Aus/Eng/SA.  Still think he can perform there, but needs to prove himself. 

 

Rahane overall is likely our best batsman. The average is lower than what it should be at, but don't forget - he got some horendous decisions against him early in his career when India were against DRS. On potential though, I feel Rahul should be our best batsman. If he can keep his head squarely on his shoulders and stay fit, then he can become our top dog. I hope he goes on to live up to those expectations. 

[rtmohanlal]

Really surprised to see Pujara leading others by such big margin in the poll. Infact he has the worst record in ENG,AUS,SAF,NZL & WI combined as of now.

[Trichromatic]

41 minutes ago, rtmohanlal said:

Really surprised to see Pujara leading others by such big margin in the poll. Infact he has the worst record in ENG,AUS,SAF,NZL & WI combined as of now.

Effect of recent performances. Will bump this thread during away tours.

[express bowling]

-

Edited August 13, 2017 by express bowling

[Kerberos]

2 hours ago, rtmohanlal said:

Really surprised to see Pujara leading others by such big margin in the poll. Infact he has the worst record in ENG,AUS,SAF,NZL & WI combined as of now.

Question is :

Who is the best batsman in India? 

Hence, Pujara getting votes.

Maybe OP meant :

Who is the best test batsman of India?

[jusarrived]

On 12/08/2017 at 4:59 PM, express bowling said:

 

 

Different techniques are needed to counter pace and bounce, swing, seam and spin.

 

These batsman would rate differently for these and one list is not possible.

 

There is no-one like a Gavaskar in this team whose overall technique can be rated as the best.

I dont think there was any batsmen who was best for every condition , the closest I can think of is Tendulkar who had a near perfect technique for Seam , bounce and swing , while he was very good when it swung . Dravid and Gavaskar would be my close second . Dravid only in swinging conditions was far superior to Tendulkar . All these batsmen have no clear weakness , they dint favour any one side and they where almost equally good both on the front and back foot . 

 

Among the current lot , contrary to popular belief I think Virat has the best technique . We tend to over emphasise on that one series in England , but even when it swings I dont see any technical issues in his batting which will not allow him to counter swing . The big difference is amount of LOI matches these guys play now , making those small adjustments to your batting in different conditions makes extremely difficult . 

I agree with your points on Pujara , neither am a big fan of his technique . I have said this before as well , its not a coincidence that he was in great form before and right after our overseas tours ended . When we travel again , hes most likely do better than last time but I doubt he we will play a key role for us . 

 

This how I would rate them overall .

 

Virat > KL > Rahane > VJ > Pujara 

[Khota]

They are all about the same.