SMAT 2025

[Ultimate_Game]

40 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

That is why i used filter minimum 10 sixes. Also it is mainly to find bowlers who can hit sixes.  This Jakhar is as good as batsmen in terms of six hitting. Someone down the order with such six hitting ability will be handy. But i am hearing his bowling is not upto the mark. He is only 21. But it is a great attribute to have.

 

Agreed but you don't want someone like Ramandeep Singh treated as a bowler. No point thinking of them as bowlers or even an all-rounder when they are so useless it's better to play a specialist batter in their place. They should've at least some ability with the ball - at least at the same level as Parag and preferably like Axar, Sundar or Jadeja.

[tapandrun]

1 hour ago, Ultimate_Game said:

I hope Urvil Patel gets opportunities this IPL and with the A team. I liked him couple of times I saw him in the IPL but he didn't get too many games. We need an explosive wk-batter so we can find a replacement for KL in ODIs and a backup and eventual replacement for Samson in T20s.

 

Urvil is a top order batter too. but yes need to look out for the wk-batter this batch has not been that good in terms of white-ball.

 

Few wk that looked good in their domestic t20 leagues or smat ::

Urvil <-- Guj

Salil <--pnjb

Karthik, Mukul <--Raj

Tajesvi Dahiya, joon <--Del

Ravi Singh <-- Ralys/UP

Kushagra <-- jkd

Dalal <-- Hryn 

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2025 by tapandrun

[tapandrun]

57 minutes ago, Ultimate_Game said:

 

Agreed but you don't want someone like Ramandeep Singh treated as a bowler. No point thinking of them as bowlers or even an all-rounder when they are so useless it's better to play a specialist batter in their place. They should've at least some ability with the ball - at least at the same level as Parag and preferably like Axar, Sundar or Jadeja.

 

In terms of bowlers who can bat or hit a few ::

Vidyadhar Patil (Krntk.) think he played U19 same years as tyagi, bats well , some1 here pointed out he is a trundler

Samant Jakhar (hyryn) bowls sub 130 but is tall 6.4 or something can use long handle and hit 6s can be developed as a finisher if he is good vs pace.

Mangesh Yadav (mp/up) rcb pick LA pacer not that tall, similar action to Vaas, can hit ball leg-side played some tennis cricket so have those yorker and bouncer kind of balls

Arsahd Khan (mp) not sure why is he not tried in t20 till now. bowls LA late 130s and early 140s can reach upto 144 kmph and LH batter can tonk few in the last overs, played multiple IPL seasons  

 

 

 

[Ultimate_Game]

13 minutes ago, tapandrun said:

 

Urvil is a top order batter too. but yes need to look out for the wk-batter this batch has not been that good in terms of white-ball.

 

Few wk that looked good in their domestic t20 leagues or smat ::

Urvil <-- Guj

Salil <--pnjb

Karthik, Mukul <--Raj

Tajesvi Dahiya, joon <--Del

Ravi Singh <-- Ralys/UP

Kushagra <-- jkd

Dalal <-- Hryn 

 

 

 

 

Have only seen Urvil from the list above and liked what I saw. Only other wk-batter I've seen is Prabhsimran but find him extremely inconsistent and he tends to struggle against better teams. If Urvil can nail that wk-batter spot at the top it'll allow us to get in specialist batters lower down the order in ODIs as well. Not sold on Ishan Kishan and Samson and need a more reliable batter. Rahul should've been it but his attitude and panautiness leaves a lot to be desired. Pant is a better fit for Tests and not made for LOIs and has regressed after his car accident.

[Ultimate_Game]

7 minutes ago, tapandrun said:

 

In terms of bowlers who can bat or hit a few ::

Vidyadhar Patil (Krntk.) think he played U19 same years as tyagi, bats well , some1 here pointed out he is a trundler

Samant Jakhar (hyryn) bowls sub 130 but is tall 6.4 or something can use long handle and hit 6s can be developed as a finisher if he is good vs pace.

Mangesh Yadav (mp/up) rcb pick LA pacer not that tall, similar action to Vaas, can hit ball leg-side played some tennis cricket so have those yorker and bouncer kind of balls

Arsahd Khan (mp) not sure why is he not tried in t20 till now. bowls LA late 130s and early 140s can reach upto 144 kmph and LH batter can tonk few in the last overs, played multiple IPL seasons  

 

 

 

 

If one of them, especially a pacer, can be one change bowler and average in 30s that would be a huge plus.

[vvvslaxman]

1 hour ago, Ultimate_Game said:

 

Agreed but you don't want someone like Ramandeep Singh treated as a bowler. No point thinking of them as bowlers or even an all-rounder when they are so useless it's better to play a specialist batter in their place. They should've at least some ability with the ball - at least at the same level as Parag and preferably like Axar, Sundar or Jadeja.

 

 

Anyway since i am on long vacation got some time to work on it. Created a ranking based on 50% weightage to balls/six 35% weightage to strike rate/15% weightage to average.   Here is the ranking. Score is on the far right based on this. ABhishek tops it. 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2025 by vvvslaxman

[vvvslaxman]

Part 2

 

[tapandrun]

2 minutes ago, Ultimate_Game said:

 

Have only seen Urvil from the list above and liked what I saw. Only other wk-batter I've seen is Prabhsimran but find him extremely inconsistent and he tends to struggle against better teams. If Urvil can nail that wk-batter spot at the top it'll allow us to get in specialist batters lower down the order in ODIs as well. Not sold on Ishan Kishan and Samson and need a more reliable batter. Rahul should've been it but his attitude and panautiness leaves a lot to be desired. Pant is a better fit for Tests and not made for LOIs and has regressed after his car accident.

Prab is good but doubt he is good vs high or good pace,  In regards to pant they inducted him in the intnl scene too early, he didnt do much recovery. As soon as he was fit he played IPL and then Ind.

 

His technique has changed now he just keeps planted in the crease similar to Dube. He never had much off-side game and now its nearly 0, think he should work on his batting technique else he will have issues in tests too.

 

 

 

[Ultimate_Game]

2 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

 

 

Anyway since i am on long vacation got some time to work on it. Created a ranking based on 50% weightage to balls/six 35% weightage to strike rate/15% weightage to average.   Here is the ranking. Score is on the far right based on this. ABhishek tops it. 

 

 

 

That's a great list! I can see why Ishan Kishan was called for the WT20. Did Urvik Patel bat in the top order or lower down? IMO next step would be to see who're in top 3 (top order), who bat at 4 and 5 (middle order), and who bat at 6 and 7 (lower order). That way easier to identify the best batters for different positions.

 

I suspect that top order batters will have an advantage with SR due to them batting in PP overs. If we find outliers like someone batting in the middle or lower order and still able to bat at a high SR with plenty of 6s, need to keep an eye out for them and probably get them in for no. 7 slot where we struggle to get quick runs at the death.

[vvvslaxman]

3 minutes ago, Ultimate_Game said:

 

That's a great list! I can see why Ishan Kishan was called for the WT20. Did Urvik Patel bat in the top order or lower down? IMO next step would be to see who're in top 3 (top order), who bat at 4 and 5 (middle order), and who bat at 6 and 7 (lower order). That way easier to identify the best batters for different positions.

 

I suspect that top order batters will have an advantage with SR due to them batting in PP overs. If we find outliers like someone batting in the middle or lower order and still able to bat at a high SR with plenty of 6s, need to keep an eye out for them and probably get them in for no. 7 slot where we struggle to get quick runs at the death.

yes. That is why more weightage for six hitting skills. They don't need to depend on power play alone.  UNlike for internationals we can't find the batting slotwise performance. we have to manually go and check. But one thing we can do is. Identify people and check their performance individuall and see who they scored against, what position they batted at.

[vvvslaxman]

16 minutes ago, Ultimate_Game said:

 

Have only seen Urvil from the list above and liked what I saw. Only other wk-batter I've seen is Prabhsimran but find him extremely inconsistent and he tends to struggle against better teams. If Urvil can nail that wk-batter spot at the top it'll allow us to get in specialist batters lower down the order in ODIs as well. Not sold on Ishan Kishan and Samson and need a more reliable batter. Rahul should've been it but his attitude and panautiness leaves a lot to be desired. Pant is a better fit for Tests and not made for LOIs and has regressed after his car accident.

 

Urvil has crazy bat speed. Also tremendous frontfoot game opposite of our spin all rounders. 

[tapandrun]

1 minute ago, Ultimate_Game said:

 

That's a great list! I can see why Ishan Kishan was called for the WT20. Did Urvik Patel bat in the top order or lower down? IMO next step would be to see who're in top 3 (top order), who bat at 4 and 5 (middle order), and who bat at 6 and 7 (lower order). That way easier to identify the best batters for different positions.

 

I suspect that top order batters will have an advantage with SR due to them batting in PP overs. If we find outliers like someone batting in the middle or lower order and still able to bat at a high SR with plenty of 6s, need to keep an eye out for them and probably get them in for no. 7 slot where we struggle to get quick runs at the death.

Urvil plays in top order this smat too he played in top order -- he tries to hit every ball , sometimes get tangled into the shot itself. Hence the day it works for him he get sun 40 ball ton and when it does not he is like 10 ball 20 15 ball 30 

 

Urvil <-- Opener or top order  RH

Salil <-- lower mo, not that tall but uses bottom-hand to hit 6s RH

Karthik <-- mo/lower mo , looked un-polished. RH

Mukul <-- Mo , he is tall RH

Tajeshvi <-- mo/lower mo, can access both off and leg side RH

 Ravi <-- mo, v. fast bat swing specially leg-side LH

Kushagra <-- mo, looks like a proper batter , may not be able to fit t20is

Dalal <--mo, Proper batter, not that tall , may not be suited for t20is   

 

 

 

[Ultimate_Game]

1 minute ago, vvvslaxman said:

yes. That is why more weightage for six hitting skills. They don't need to depend on power play alone.  UNlike for internationals we can't find the batting slotwise performance. we have to manually go and check. But one thing we can do is. Identify people and check their performance individuall and see who they scored against, what position they batted at.

 

Yup, the stats in itself simply tells you potential players who might be a good fit but you've to see them perform against better teams and also in tough situations. Someone coming in at 7 and scoring a 30 ball 50 when the team was 100/5 is much better than someone scoring 50 off 22 balls coming in at 170/3. Scoring against better teams such as Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab etc. is also a plus than scoring in Plate division.

 

But at least the stats tell you whether the player has the ability to play modern game. We don't want accumulators with high average clogging up batting order. That's the reason we struggled before 2024 coz we had top order batters taking up spots from 1-6 due to a high batting average and low SR. IMO openers need to go ballistic like Abhishek, Jaiswal, Arya, Urvil Patel etc. One of no. 3 or 4 can be like Tilak Varma who can handle adversity and play according to situation. But rest of the batters need to be able to hit 6s with 2-3 all-rounders who can bat and hit well. No more specialist batters who average in 50s but have a SR hovering around 130.

[vvvslaxman]

1 minute ago, Ultimate_Game said:

 

Yup, the stats in itself simply tells you potential players who might be a good fit but you've to see them perform against better teams and also in tough situations. Someone coming in at 7 and scoring a 30 ball 50 when the team was 100/5 is much better than someone scoring 50 off 22 balls coming in at 170/3. Scoring against better teams such as Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab etc. is also a plus than scoring in Plate division.

 

But at least the stats tell you whether the player has the ability to play modern game. We don't want accumulators with high average clogging up batting order. That's the reason we struggled before 2024 coz we had top order batters taking up spots from 1-6 due to a high batting average and low SR. IMO openers need to go ballistic like Abhishek, Jaiswal, Arya, Urvil Patel etc. One of no. 3 or 4 can be like Tilak Varma who can handle adversity and play according to situation. But rest of the batters need to be able to hit 6s with 2-3 all-rounders who can bat and hit well. No more specialist batters who average in 50s but have a SR hovering around 130.

When the balls/6 is high that is an indication that they have intent.  LOok at Shubman Gill. He hit a six every 41 balls this year. THat is absolutely garbage ratio.

[Ultimate_Game]

3 minutes ago, tapandrun said:

Urvil plays in top order this smat too he played in top order -- he tries to hit every ball , sometimes get tangled into the shot itself. Hence the day it works for him he get sun 40 ball ton and when it does not he is like 10 ball 20 15 ball 30 

 

Urvil <-- Opener or top order  RH

Salil <-- lower mo, not that tall but uses bottom-hand to hit 6s RH

Karthik <-- mo/lower mo , looked un-polished. RH

Mukul <-- Mo , he is tall RH

Tajeshvi <-- mo/lower mo, can access both off and leg side RH

 Ravi <-- mo, v. fast bat swing specially leg-side LH

Kushagra <-- mo, looks like a proper batter , may not be able to fit t20is

Dalal <--mo, Proper batter, not that tall , may not be suited for t20is   

 

 

 

 

Likes of Abhishek, Urvil, Suryavanshi, Arya need to learn from Travis Head how to increase the odds to be successful. You won't succeed if you go after every ball. You've to give yourself a chance to succeed. If you average around 20 with a SR of 200 it won't help you or your team. Better to average close to 40 with a SR of 170. That's the balance they need to find. It took Head 5-6 years to do so and our youngsters need to learn the art of averaging in high 30s and close to 40 with a decent SR. Will require discipline and a better understanding of their game but you're unlikely to succeed if you go after every ball. You'll end up becoming that Aussie slogger McGurk or like Pak sloggers who slog blindly and average less than 20.

 

Understanding when to go after the bowlers, which bowlers to go after, when to bide time, when to go for the kill, understanding the match situation, reading the pitch, understanding which shots to play on the pitch etc. and changing your game accordingly is what will separate elite players from the rest. Anyone decent batter can hit a few boundaries and look good but very few can do so consistently and put up good scores consistently while maintaining a high SR. Those are the players we want to identify and back.

[Ultimate_Game]

6 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

When the balls/6 is high that is an indication that they have intent.  LOok at Shubman Gill. He hit a six every 41 balls this year. THat is absolutely garbage ratio.

 

Yup. That's why was never sold on Gill as a T20 batter and the more I see him play, he may not be a good fit in ODIs as well as he's way too soft to win us ICC tournies. He looks like a better version of KL Rahul.

[vvvslaxman]

1 minute ago, Ultimate_Game said:

 

Yup. That's why was never sold on Gill as a T20 batter and the more I see him play, he may not be a good fit in ODIs as well as he's way too soft to win us ICC tournies. He looks like a better version of KL Rahul.

Unusual for a punjab team player.  You see a lot of punjab players at the top always in high impact categories.

[Ultimate_Game]

2 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

Unusual for a punjab team player.  You see a lot of punjab players at the top always in high impact categories.

 

He learned from likes of Kohli, KL Rahul and Rohit in his formative years and saw that the way to nail a spot is by increasing the batting average as selectors don't look at SR. There's a reason why KL made the "SR doesn't matter" statement. And now it's too late for Gill to change or it was never his game to begin with. That's why he should stick to Tests and at max ODIs.

[vvvslaxman]

Probably should give some weightage to total runs as well so that these two innings players don't appear at the top.

[Need4Speed]

11 hours ago, vvvslaxman said:

When the balls/6 is high that is an indication that they have intent.  LOok at Shubman Gill. He hit a six every 41 balls this year. THat is absolutely garbage ratio.

he wanted to bask his T20 opener career in Abhihesk's high SR..putting additional pressure on him..and even on team..if Abhsihek falls early..we need all guns blazing..to kill the match..else..top tier teams..can still win against us..if we he have one rusty gun at the top..