Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina - test class ?

[Salamuddin]

Well, do you think the two gentlemen aforementioned have the ability to be quality test match batsmen ?

[Salamuddin]

Both still very young.

Sharma has a lot of talent - his technique is good (I think he will succeed in fair number of conditions) and he possesses a great array of shots.
The big question mark IMo is his temperament - he tends to give away his wicket a lot but this could just be an age thing.
Some more development and maturity is required and I think the sky's the limit for Sharma.

He's undoubtedly the most talented batsman I've seen come out of India since Laxman, Dravid and Ganguly all came on the scene in 1996 and I think he has the game to be potentially better than gangles and Laxman.


Haven't seen a lot of Raina - he looks like a fairly attacking player from what little I've seen. Can't really comment test match suitability at this stage. Did get huige raps from Greg Chappell who thought he was one of the best young batsmen he had seen - I would be keen on seeing what others on thsi forum have to say about him ?

[NUFAN]

Rohit Sharma easily has the ability to be test class.

He's only 21 though, so his time will come.

In the one dayers in Australia earlier this year, I thought he looked quite good,

He needs to have a couple of big years in Indian first class cricket to be considered, cause just looking at his stats he's only made 1 century in 20 first class matches, so there's a fair few players ahead of him currently.

[Jonty Lathwal]

not sure for Raina........

but Rohit Sharma-definitely

[gettingbetter]

Raina has a superior FC record to Rohit though, by a fair bit too IIRC. Raina, in his defence was probably bought in too early, while Rohit, was bought in at the right time. I know it is only a difference in a year, but the teenager/20 year old gap is bigger than most people think.

[SJS]

Raina looks very good as long as he is at the creae but thats never going to be enough if we are talking Test cricket. To be a good Test cricketer you need to value your wicket and Raina, with al his promise, hasn't shown that.

I have been a very strong supporter of him all through the times when every one was cursing Greg Chappell for supporting him and later too but he has to understand that its not enough to be a 'show pony' he has to win a few races.

His is the worst case of someone doing great injustice to his talent. But he has only himself to blame.


PS: First class cricket can only serve to bring you to the limelight and under consideration. Its not of great enough standards to make a point as is being made in the comparison with Rohit Sharma. Performing at the next (international) level takes a completely other level of skill sets. India is full (and has been in the past) of the Bradmen of First Class cricket.

It used to be a favourite pastime once to make a side of Indian first class cricketers who would beat the international Indian side but were themselves not good enough to play test cricket.

[Arjun]

Both have some time to make their Test debuts. The raw material is there, but a few years in FC cricket and also A-team cricket, and more IPL seasons, will result in much better prospects. While FC cricket figures are often taken with a pinch of salt (with little or no other opportunities to these players), performances in IPL and for India A should be considered- and that would make them sure-shot India prospects. They, however, add little value to break the Bastion of the Big Four in the Test XI- flashback Yuvraj and Kaif.

[Manee]

Originally Posted by SJS

Bradmen.

Now that is an interesting term.

[Richard]

Haha, yeah, thought that.

[Lambu]

Both need to understand that style,charisma,X-factor(whatever ppl wnat to term it) can only take you upto a certain stage but not beyond.They are both high-impact players in the sense that they are extremely pleasing to the eye..but they have a strong tendency to gift their wickets away atm(temper).That is a trait among most Indian youngsters presently it seems(with a few exceptions like the captain).

But they are definitely a cut above the rest and definitely worth persisting with.

[Arjun]

Originally Posted by Manee

Now that is an interesting term.

This season's Afridi award?

[Richard]

Season?

[Perm]

I rate both Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma incredibly highly, mainly based on their domestic feats (which, with Indian batsmen, isn't the greatest of ways to make a judgement).

Suresh Raina is a good batsman, with lots of promise. Most of that promise is in the shorter versions of the game, although he has shown enough for Uttar Pradesh (averaging around 48) that he isn't a limited overs specialist and could conceivably be a Test class player in the future. The need for consistency with his scoring is the main thing Raina should address, as he hasn't been able to string together two successful seasons on the trot. Hopefully he will find himself with more chances in the Duleep Trophy with Central Zone. I feel his possibilities of national selection in the near future lay more closely with ODI and Twenty20 cricket though, and he's a fair way down the pecking order in Tests.

Rohit Sharma was quite impressive in a couple of ODI knocks in Australia, but has made single figure scores in over half of his innings at international level, which is a definite cause for concern. His maturity in the scores he did make where what impressed me, and he seems to have a good temperament about him and the ability to play lots of shots. Considering he has only played two seasons of domestic cricket in India, I think it's far too early to be talking about him as a potential Test batsman, let alone Test-class. Sharma still has much to do before he is even in the frame, and like Raina, finds himself behind proven FC performers such as Badrinath.

[Lambu]

Originally Posted by Perm

I rate both Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma incredibly highly, mainly based on their domestic feats (which, with Indian batsmen, isn't the greatest of ways to make a judgement).

Suresh Raina is a good batsman, with lots of promise. Most of that promise is in the shorter versions of the game, although he has shown enough for Uttar Pradesh (averaging around 48) that he isn't a limited overs specialist and could conceivably be a Test class player in the future. The need for consistency with his scoring is the main thing Raina should address, as he hasn't been able to string together two successful seasons on the trot. Hopefully he will find himself with more chances in the Duleep Trophy with Central Zone. I feel his possibilities of national selection in the near future lay more closely with ODI and Twenty20 cricket though, and he's a fair way down the pecking order in Tests.

Rohit Sharma was quite impressive in a couple of ODI knocks in Australia, but has made single figure scores in over half of his innings at international level, which is a definite cause for concern. His maturity in the scores he did make where what impressed me, and he seems to have a good temperament about him and the ability to play lots of shots. Considering he has only played two seasons of domestic cricket in India, I think it's far too early to be talking about him as a potential Test batsman, let alone Test-class. Sharma still has much to do before he is even in the frame, and like Raina, finds himself behind proven FC performers such as Badrinath.

Perm, i'm telling you selectors in India don't follow the usual course where they give the first opportunity to the guy who has performed the best in FC..if you have followed Indian cricket(which i think you have) our selectors are famous for pulling rabbit out of the hat..many FC toppers have been ignored before and youngsters given a chance based on some odd flash in the pan innings in ODIs( whether this is good or bad for both the younger guy as well as the proven guy can be debated) but just telling you how things work here in case you didn't know .

BTW, i know we are talking tests but did anyone see Raina's innings today? Flashing strokeplay is his signature..boy he hits the ball with aplomb.I'm not sure but i do remember Greg chappel telling that he was the best young batsmen hes seen in a long time also i think we had Lara telling he was very special of the backfoot.Anyway i'm in favour of giving both Rohit and Raina a go as soon as Sourav and Dravid retire as they are definitely a cut above the rest in tems of skill(forget the stats).They would hardly be the first ones to play Test in this age,even though they attack a bit too much.They are both only 21 and they have atleast 2 years before the big guns retire.Must improve their temper in the meantime.

[Sanz]

Rohit Sharma by quite a distance. Raina may be talented and all but talent alone is not enough.