Reality check- Suresh Raina is just as good as Mohammad Kaif

[CG]

No raina is not a match winner. He is almost a match winner. He takes ur team to the end den gets out and ur team loses. Da only real match winner in ur team is dhoni' date=' yuvraj, gambhir and vvs.[/quote'] Sorry mate,but raina is a match winner he won us a test match in srilanka,won us the quaterfinal vs australia with yuvraj.

[Dravid_TheWall]

I remember John Wright once said, someone like Kaif not playing test cricket, something must be wrong with selection. He would have been a good test bat and was a good odi player, but now he is pants, probably after playing so much domestic he sucks!

[Midfielder]

comparing the two shows a lack of knowledge. Kaif was bad, very bad.

[Sachinism]

Raina has a role of coming in and scoring quick, he has done his job REALLY well

[Sachin=GOD]

What does extremely well is playing the kind if innings he played today - coming in around the 35th over and making a quickfire 35-40 and he has done it consistently. We've all seen what players like Yusuf Pathan etc do - they usually play a blinder once in 20 innings and then consistently fail for many innings. As for Kaif, he wasn't the most talented player but he made the most of all the opportunities he got. And before criticizing him, people should realize that we did not have sooo many options for each and every position in the batting order as we have now so Kaif got to play so many matches.

[achilles]

Kaif was technically superior to Raina. He should've batted up the order ideally but then despite not batting a suitable position, he has stats that rival Raina. Not the kind of strike-rate that would set the world on fire but a decent strike-rate. In that regards, credit to Raina. But strike-rate is not the be-all and end-all of cricket, for technique is equally important. Raina couldn't play the short ball at the start of the career and still can't play it. Would he have been a better player had he spent time improving his technique than being the "fun" guy for his mates? The answer is anybody's guess.

He struggled in England tests and perhaps shouldn't have played the 4th test. But after those 3 50s in WI, he deserved a spot in thr England test squad and looked like getting it back when he hit that 78 at Lord's. Couldn't quite grab his chances. But now that he has failed in tests, doesn't make him a crap ODI player. As for that comparison with Kaif, the averages maybe the same but look at the strike rates 72 for Kaif and 90 for Raina.. Look at how they performed against top ODI sides Aus- 12 for Kaif vs 43 for Raina SL- 28 for Kaif vs 31 for Raina Pakistan - 21 for Kaif vs 41 for Raina SA- 30 for Kaif vs 28 for Raina England- 24 for Kaif vs 38 for Raina NZ- 45 for Kaif vs 39 for Raina WI- 38 for Kaif vs 19 for Raina Don't need to say anything more now.

Despite having a good record against 4 countries (seems like most of the games were in India), Raina still has an average equivalent to that of Kaif, who seems to have managed the same feat that Raina has, despite tuk-tuk batting and in (mostly?) alien conditions. And that is disguised flattery for Kaif. Raina is not a trash ODI player. No one says that, not even the author. I think the point that is lost on everyone is the player Raina would be today had he ironed out his flaws.

[achilles]

2 things that seem to be cleverly ignored with the responses so far- 1. Kaif averaged better than Raina in Tests. 2. Raina's last ODI fifty was in October 2010 (Please don't bump the thread if he scores a 50 this series, doesn't change that it took him 10+ months to score a 50!)

[Sid]

2 things that seem to be cleverly ignored with the responses so far- 1. Kaif averaged better than Raina in Tests. 2. Raina's last ODI fifty was in October 2010 (Please don't bump the thread if he scores a 50 this series, doesn't change that it took him 10+ months to score a 50!)

Raina's 30 odd runs innings was as important as Sachin's innings in the semi final.On topic again ,talking about ODI's alone ,Will any opposition fear Raina,answer a BIG YES ; Will the opposition fear Kaif,answer they will laugh and then say NO. I can also list 3-4 good test innings by Raina,when India were in pressure, so he wasnt a complete failure in test cricket. Point is Raina isnt a good test player,that has been proved but he is a damn good limited overs player and comparison with a useless player like Kaif is nothing more than a joke.

[achilles]

Raina's 30 odd run innigs was as important as Sachin's innings in the semi final.On topic again ,talking about ODI's alone ,Will any opposition fear Raina,answer a BIG YES ; Will the opposition fear Kaif,answer they will laugh and then say NO. I can also list 3-4 good test innings by Raina,when India were in pressure. Point is Raina isnt a test player,that has been proved but he is a damn good limited overs player and comparison with a useless player like Kaif is nothing more than a joke.

In your entire post, I nowhere see you defending Raina's credentials as a Test bat. But did he still play tests after South Africa- Yes. Secondly, the Kaif that people will "laugh on" won us our arguably greatest One-day match. It changed the way India perceived its youth and paved the way for technique-less batsmen to make it to the XI (sorry for being harsh). See, Raina has managed the same stats as Kaif, despite being "dangerous" and "not being a joke". Isn't that proof enough of the kind of player he is? And if Danger is a factor, I think Yusuf Pathan would make a lot of people go mad if he gets going.

[Sid]

In your entire post, I nowhere see you defending Raina's credentials as a Test bat. But did he still play tests after South Africa- Yes. Secondly, the Kaif that people will "laugh on" won us our arguably greatest One-day match. It changed the way India perceived its youth and paved the way for technique-less batsmen to make it to the XI (sorry for being harsh). See, Raina has managed the same stats as Kaif, despite being "dangerous" and "not being a joke". Isn't that proof enough of the kind of player he is? And if Danger is a factor, I think Yusuf Pathan would make a lot of people go mad if he gets going.

Can you tell me what your point is,if you are trying to prove Kaif and Raina are equal as far as batting is concerned because they have similar stats(that too only in terms of average),then :hatsoff: to you. P.S: Please dont bring Yusuf Pathan into this :facepalm:

[achilles]

Can you tell me what your point is' date='if you are trying to prove Kaif and Raina are equal as far as batting is concerned because they have similar stats(that too only in terms of average),then :hatsoff: to you.[/quote'] Statistically, the author makes the right argument, not the dangerous one. I brought in Pathan, for you brought in the fear element.

[Sid]

Statistically, the author makes the right argument, not the dangerous one. I brought in Pathan, for you brought in the fear element.

Author can say whatever he wants ,Raina is a better ODI batsman than Kaif,period .

[Cricket Tragic]

How are the stats similar? Raina's strike rate is so much better. He is hopeless in tests, I'll grant you that.

[glogirl]

Author can say whatever he wants ' date='Raina is a better ODI batsman than Kaif,period .[/quote'] agreed:two_thumbs_up::icflove:

[Sooda]

Raina is a cracking ODI bat and Kaif as Outy rightly points out was a superior test bat. Kaif was very harshly treated and deserved a longer rope in the test squads.

[Manny_Pacquiao]

i liked Kaif a lot. great team man, incredible fielder and a very good batsman in difficult situations. he had a prominent role in many of india's most important ODI victories. Raina is in a totally different league tho, he rotates strike just like kaif and can hit boundaries at will. he is fantastic lower-order ODI batsman. his average is low right now, but thats because he had some bad games in WI. he can easily turn that around, and spent the last 2 years averaging 36-37 with an SR of 90+. i would say he is the best finisher in limited overs cricket. different kinds of players, u cant realy compare them. kaif was just batting out of position for most of his ODI career anyway. raina is a total misfit in tests, but thats a different story. raina wont be playing any more tests for a long time.

[Number]

By the time Raina made test debut , Kaif was already 30 (guess). so when Yuvraj got injured in SL tour was there any point of calling Kaif back in intl cricket after a long time? Management made right call by putting Raina in. He did well that time so there was nothing to look back.

[Manny_Pacquiao]

kaif would have made a better test player than raina. but the problem is he had no support in the media, nobody to fight his corner in public. good performances in first class cricket went unnoticed, and he did get a call up when south afrika toured in 2008 but didnt get a game. in india, public image makes a big difference - TV time counts towards selection and naturally the guys playing the ODIs will get preference. selectors dont watch games unless its high profile, i.e. a final of ranji, or the irani. it shouldnt be this way, but there u go. like actors, cricketers get typecast in certain roles and kaif was made out to be a plodder. from then on, he hasnt scoed many runs in FC cricket either, so he cant complain about where he stands anymore. that, and his FC team UP arent quite as good as they once were a few years ago , so there is practically no coverage of his performances outside of a few cricket forums on the interwebz

[Sachin=GOD]

Kaif was a better Test player than Raina but given some time Raina will prove that he is also a good Test player.

[james]

Raina is more attacking in ODI's but **** in test, Kaif was better in test.