6 Pairs of Cricketers with almost the same game

4. Rahul Dravid & Cheteshwar Pujara (India):

How they reflect each other?: Unlike many, I would not go as far as calling Pujara the new Dravid but I’d definitely say that there is a lot of similarity between the two batsmen and like Dravid, Pujara seems very reassuring at the crease. The unbreakable defense is one thing that makes Pujara look a little like Dravid but more than that, if there is anything that makes us call these two batsmen similar, its the temperament.

A good temperament is that one golden attribute every player must possess and which seems to be in plenty about Pujara and Dravid. The way they play the first ball on walking out of the pavilion always reflects their desire to play until the umpire calls stumps for the day. Both these batsmen show the zeal to play and test the endurance of the bowler. The batting styles and footwork and almost every other similarity about these batsmen is a mere by-product of the tempo the show.

What is the difference?: Flexibility. Rahul Dravid had the flexibility of changing his batting manners in permissible manners with respect to the format of the game he was playing. Three sixes on three consecutive balls in the only T20 International he ever played speaks oceans about how he flexed his bat. Pujara, though a talented player in all formats, is yet to learn to bend his bat the way the team and the format of the game demands. Once he does that, we could perhaps call him something close to The Wall!