India's next test opener/number 3 bat

[Mr. Wicket]

Rahane's come of age at last. Started his first-class career by running Pakistan's best domestic side ragged in Karachi, had a bit of a form rut in the Ranjis but delivered a hundred in a crunch game (that Mumbai ultimately failed to win), and now has been piling them up in the Duleeps. This isn't one of those batsmen who only grinds out slow knocks at first class level and struggles at higher stages when he gets bogged down too easily. He's shown at the U19 level and during his Ranji ton vs. Saurashtra that he can bat slowly and carefully without being bogged down, and knocks like his last couple of Duleep performances show he can take apart attacks. And good attacks at that. Onions, Kirby, Panesar and Plunkett is one of the better first class attacks that's shown up in an Indian domestic competition, and Rahane was scoring at a very good rate against them. Against two India hopefuls in VRV and Mishra yesterday, he was rattling along at a superb strike rate. Right now he's made 3 tons and 6 fifties at an average of over 60 opening or batting at 3 for Bombay and West Zone. Not bad for the 19 year old kid in his first season of cricket at first class level. Bombay's found its next big runmaker, and I suspect, so has India.

[Kartikey]

What's happening with Badrinath???? He was a good player, but didn't get an opportunity.

[Cricketics]

surely a great prospect.. have seen him bat a couple of timez now.. not that bad a fielder either if u have seen him field.. definately the one for the future.. hope he livez up to our expectation..

[Mr. Wicket]

Yeah, he's a good fielder. But it's the batting that excites me. Talent, temperament and a real hunger for big scores and success. This is a kid who could have walked into ANY Ranji side at the age of 17 when he was being picked in Under 19 squads nationally. He didn't break into Bombay's side until this season though, and kept waiting on the bench to try and prove himself there, rather than take an easier route. That says a lot about his character (rather than people like Kiran Powar who left to teams where they wouldn't need to fight for their places). I reckon he and Sangwan will be the people to really watch over the next decade.

[Ram]

Aaah.. So nice to see a young promising prospect. Is he Left Handed ? I think we badly need a left-handed opener. A huge % of the dominant top-order players of this decade have been lefties.

[bunny]

Any videos? Going by just scores is not a good idea at all.

[Mr. Wicket]

Any videos? Going by just scores is not a good idea at all.

Who's going by scores here? I've seen him bat a few times, and this kid has talent in spades. Sriram, he's a right hander. Don't get depressed, Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Boycott, Haynes, Greenidge, Gavaskar, Gooch, Simpson and a whole bunch of others were all RHBs. :D

[msb1991]

It would be premature to suspect that he is good enough after one season. I think that as a staple rule, about two or three full seasons of domestic cricket should be used to assess talent and even then, established talent should be favoured above him. In the Duleep Trophy final today though, he looked very impressive. Swashbuckling, yet with a solid technique.

[Ram]

Who's going by scores here? I've seen him bat a few times, and this kid has talent in spades. Sriram, he's a right hander. Don't get depressed, Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Boycott, Haynes, Greenidge, Gavaskar, Gooch, Simpson and a whole bunch of others were all RHBs. :D

Too bad... :( Btw, get on MSN if you can.

[Mr. Wicket]

Fine, how about his Under 19 performances as well? And showings in the Cooch Behar and Buchi Babu? Generally a very good record in all of the above. Green top wickets in New Zealand, teams getting shot out for around a hundred, and he's one of very few batsmen to stick around and make runs there. Outstanding performances against some good Delhi sides (BTW, why should established talent be favoured over a young gun? If people thought like you do, Tendulkar would have waited until he was about 20-22 to play test cricket and Irfan would have been forced to play a few years of domestics instead of coming through right after his U19 exploits)

[bunny]

(BTW, why should established talent be favoured over a young gun?

RSD would be the first one to support you. He was averaging in the 60s every year from 91 to 96.

[bunny]

Who's going by scores here? I've seen him bat a few times, and this kid has talent in spades.

I didn't mean that. I just thought if anybody could upload some of his videos then all of us would be a better judge. (For example, Badrinath's technique was a complete shocker to me. He too has talent and guts, and deserves a test place in the near future, but I can't see him averaging 40-42+ in tests).

[sm332]

I didn't mean that. I just thought if anybody could upload some of his videos then all of us would be a better judge. (For example' date=' Badrinath's technique was a complete shocker to me. He too has talent and guts, and deserves a test place in the near future, but I can't see him averaging 40-42+ in tests).[/quote'] technique is over-rated ... if technique was a very strong indicator of future performance, Sehwag would not average 50+ ... you have to suss more than just technique ...

[chamatkar]

technique is over-rated ... if technique was a very strong indicator of future performance' date=' Sehwag would not average 50+ ... you have to suss more than just technique ...[/quote'] While I accept that, I also believe in moderation. We cannot have a guts-or-glory team which has either everyone scoring at a SR of 100+ or everyone getting out in single digits. BTW, I haven't seen Badrinath's technique.... any videos someone can share which show the presence/lack of?

[Anakin]

technique is over-rated ... if technique was a very strong indicator of future performance' date=' Sehwag would not average 50+ ... you have to suss more than just technique ...[/quote']It is not over-rated imo. While you can survive in most situations on hands-eyes coordination, there'll be times, pitches and bad patches of form when you need the technique to survive and see them off. SRT's consistency is due to his better technique as compared to BCL imo.

[sm332]

It is not over-rated imo. While you can survive in most situations on hands-eyes coordination' date=' there'll be times, pitches and bad patches of form when you need the technique to survive and see them off. SRT's consistency is due to his better technique as compared to BCL imo.[/quote'] sure I dont disagree that it may sometimes help ... but dont underestimate the power of unsual techniques ... it can take bowlers a lot of time to figure out what to do with you. I am a big believer in runs are runs ... I like guts, a little but of mongrel in the player and the willingness to fight .... and yes the most important .... a huge appetite for the big stage

[Chandan]

I reckon he and Sangwan will be the people to really watch over the next decade.

How about including Pujara in that list as, say number three bat? I liked his technique a lot. Don't know how it is at the moment, but the guy came a very technically-sound batsman in his earlier years. You've seen him recently. How do you rate him?

[Mr. Wicket]

Nowhere near the same class. And while his technique's good, he just doesn't seem to make runs when it matters against better opposition, in crunch games or in tigher/pressure situations unlike Rahane. If I'm comparing him to anyone, it'd be Sanjay Manjrekar - good copybook technique, upright stance and a nice straight bat, but not the sort of guy who fills you with that much confidence in terms of regularly putting runs on the board.

[Dhondy]

As usual, timely from Thal. There's a lot more stuff he's researched which I read on email. I am worried though, Thal. Is Rahane the best we have? I watched him in both innings, and he looks quite loose outside the off. Thrice in the space of the 140 runs he made across the two innings, he was streaky, and with better slip catching, he would have gone. You wouldn't have failed to notice his mode of dismissal in both innings- LBW to the curler back into him, from Malik and VRV respectively, although the ball was high on the second occasion. He definitely has another weakness there. What's really worrying though is after all the hype surrounding some of the youngsters, some of them look positively mediocre. Pujara looks like a club level player, bowled through the gate in both innings, and Parthiv clearly hasn''t redressed his frailties outside the off. It's not as if the bowling was of the highest quality. VRV, Malik etc are A-team players at best. Where's our next batting tyro coming from? Yousuf Pathan, despite his tendency to slog, is the guy who looks the closest fit for the first team. He has heaps of intent, this guy, gives a hoot for technique and will destroy mediocre attacks.

[bunny]

technique is over-rated ... if technique was a very strong indicator of future performance' date=' Sehwag would not average 50+ ... you have to suss more than just technique ...[/quote'] I agree that technique is over-rated. But if you are a defensive player and don't have great technique, you need to at least have a good technique and loads of patience and great concentration (like Chanderpaul or Hussey). Badrinath right now is probably a miniature Chanderpaul as of now. He can improve though but as I said then he needs to play out of his skin like Chanderpaul does.