Rank Ranjitsinhji, Duleepsinhji, Hazare and Merchant as batsmen.

[mr_mister]

Indisputably the 4 best pre WW2 Indian batsmen(i'll look foolish if I'm forgetting someone) but how do they stack up against each other?


Interested in discussion as I don't hear these guys talked about too often here, but all 4 have remarkable FC and test stats

 

[the big bambino]

Would also consider Pataudi and Mushtaq Ali (as outsiders though). Probably rate the 4 mentioned in the order you placed them. In doing so I'm making a big allowance for the what if factor regarding Duleep.

 

[fredfertang]

There is an interesting piece in this year's Wisden India that reproduces an essay that Merchant wrote in 1977 comparing himself and Sunny Gavaskar (who was then just six years into his international career) - he expresses the view that Sunny was a better batsman than him his main point being that he (Merchant) couldn't tell an inswinger from an outswinger or a leg break from a googly whereas Sunny could - my only thought was what his stats would look like if he had been able to

 

[StephenZA]

There is an interesting piece in this year's Wisden India that reproduces an essay that Merchant wrote in 1977 comparing himself and Sunny Gavaskar (who was then just six years into his international career) - he expresses the view that Sunny was a better batsman than him his main point being that he (Merchant) couldn't tell an inswinger from an outswinger or a leg break from a googly whereas Sunny could - my only thought was what his stats would look like if he had been able to

He probably just watched the ball and hit it, rather than worrying about whether it was swinging in or out....

 

[Howe_zat]

Rank Ranjitsinhji

You wouldn't say that to his face

 

[Howe_zat]

Indisputably the 4 best pre WW2 Indian batsmen (i'll look foolish if I'm forgetting someone)

Or if Hazare played in the 50s

 

[Dan]

Or if Duleep and Ranji were English

 

[G.I.Joe]

Jam Saheb Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji

So what they're saying is that he was a combination of Dravid and Jadeja*





*Sir Jadeja, not the match fixer who, IIRC is actually related to the Ranji-Duleep family.

 

[mr_mister]

is this daft for the sake of it today? Hazare started playing FC cricket well before the war and Ranji and Duleep were both born in India. Representing a different country at test level doesn't change that

 

[watson]

As a legend you'd have to favour Ranji. But even Ranji doesn't boast the following scorecard in his CV. In fact very few batsman do....

4th Test: Australia v India at Adelaide, Jan 23-28, 1948 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[Pratters]

This is taking comparing random players to a whole new level.

 

[mr_mister]

Is it really that crazy a comparison?

 

[Pratters]

Let's compare all Irish origin players who played for Australia 1900-1950 as well.

 

[mr_mister]

lol nobody would have said **** if I compared just Duleep to Ranji or Merchant to Hazare.

I decided I liked all 4 players, I found a connection, so I threw all 4 in together. If you have a problem leave the thread instead of carrying on like a baby

 

[Pratters]

It's weird. Ranji never played a match on Indian soil afaik. They share a race. How about comparing Ish Sodhi, Ashwin, Dipak Patel and Monty Panesar..

 

[mr_mister]

because I could add 50 other peers to that list of players you just named?

Where as with my example, of Indian ATG Batsman from the olden days, there's nobody else to really include is there

 

[watson]

If you view them each as legends of 'Indian batsmanship' then you can sort of compare their influence on the game.

I think that Ranji probably impacted the art of batting the most, with Hazare and Merchant close behind. Duleep a distant third despite his iconic 173 in one of the most memorable Test matches of all time.

2nd Test: England v Australia at Lord's, Jun 27-Jul 1, 1930 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[watson]

Here is a brief look at Duleep batting with Woolley in that 2nd Test at Lords. Note Woolley's straight drive off the fast bowler Tim Wall!

.

 

[mr_mister]

not to mention Ranji and Duleep played all their tests before India as a country ever played one

 

[Pratters]

Another aspect - they played many years apart and batsmanship in the time of Ranji and the time of Hazare were quite different. How can you compare Hobbs and Grace, say.