Who has been a better batsman between Saurabh Ganguly or Rahul Dravid?

 Well,firstly,the name is Sourav Ganguly,and not what the question states.

Secondly,its really a sin to compare two absolute legends and gems of Indian cricket. But then,comparison is human nature,and so,I’ll compare them according to their batting skills,in the most impartial way possible.

Disclaimer- My answer is not meant to hurt the fans of any of the two cricketers. I have tremendous respect for both of them.

Comparison across formats(only tests and ODIs involved,as Ganguly never played a T20I,and Dravid played just 1). I have alloted 1 point as full point for each round of comparison. And for convenience,I’ll denote Ganguly as G and Dravid as D. Also,I’d skip batting averages at home,as its common sense that every batsman enjoys home conditions-

Test cricket-

Many people call Rahul Dravid as the best test batsman of India,rating him above even Sachin Tendulkar.

• Overall stats-

1. Ganguly- 7212 runs in 113 matches(188 innings)
2. Dravid- 13288 runs in 164 matches(286 innings)

• Runs/innings-

1. Ganguly- 38.36
2. Dravid- 46.46

So here,Dravid beats Ganguly by a huge margin(D1- G0)

• Overall batting average-

1. Ganguly- 42.2
2. Dravid- 52.3

Here too,Dravid is way ahead of Ganguly(D2- G0)

• Overseas batting average(overall)-

1. Ganguly- 41.6
2. Dravid- 53

Dravid is way ahead of Ganguly here(D3- G0)

• Overseas batting average(country specific)

1. Australia- Ganguly- 35 < Dravid- 41.6
2. England- Ganguly- 65.4 < Dravid- 69
3. South Africa- Ganguly- 36.2 > Dravid- 30
4. West Indies- Ganguly- 40 < Dravid- 65.7
5. New Zealand- Ganguly- 28 < Dravid- 64
6. Sri Lanka- Ganguly- 36.7 > Dravid- 33
7. Pakistan- Ganguly- 49.3 < Dravid- 78.6
8. Bangladesh- Ganguly- 62 < Dravid- 70
9. Zimbabwe- Ganguly- 30.6 < Dravid- 79

So,here Dravid is ahead of Ganguly by (7–2) margin.

Overall,Dravid leads Ganguly by (D10- G2)

Conclusion in tests- So,judging by the statistics,Rahul Dravid has simply outclassed Sourav Ganguly,as a way better batsman,in test cricket.

But,here comes the twist. Rahul Dravid has played a whooping 213 innings,at no.3,which is right at the top of the order. But poor Ganguly has never played even a 100 innings at a specific batting position. He has played 99 innings at no.5,where he averages 38,and 47 innings at no.6,where he averages 42. And both these batting positions,especially no.6,are lower middle-order batting positions. So,its quite evident,that mostly,Ganguly had to bat with the tail-enders. And batting with tail-enders,especially in SENAW countries isn’t easy at all. So,stats always don’t say the whole thing.

But going by stats,Dravid is way better as a test batsman.

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Now ODI cricket-

• Overall stats-

1. Ganguly- 11363 runs in 311 ODIs(300 innings)
2. Dravid- 10889 runs in 344 ODIs(318 innings)

• Runs/innings-

1. Ganguly- 37.9
2. Dravid- 34.2

So,Ganguly is better than Dravid here.(G1- D0)

• Batting average(overall)-

1. Ganguly- 41.1
2. Dravid- 39.1

So,Ganguly outsmarts Dravid here.(G2- D0)

• Batting avearge(overseas,as a whole)-

1. Ganguly- 39.7
2. Dravid- 37.6

Ganguly is ahead here too.(G3- D0)

• Batting average(in Australia and South Africa,toughest touring nations)-

1. Ganguly- 33.3 and 50
2. Dravid- 32.8 and 44.3

Ganguly is slightly ahead here too,inspite of his so called short-ball weakness.(G4- D0)

• Strike-rate-

1. Ganguly- 74
2. Dravid- 71

Ganguly has better S/R. (G5- D0)

• Performances in CWC-

1. Ganguly- 1006 runs in 21 matches,at an average of 56,and S/R of 77.5
2. Dravid- 860 runs in 22 matches,at an average of 61.42,and S/R of 75.

Dravid has better average,but Ganguly has better S/R,so points will be shared here. (G6- D1)

• Performances in ICC Champions’ Trophy-

1. Ganguly- 665 runs in 13 matches,at an average of 74,and a S/R of 83.
2. Dravid- 627 runs in 19 matches,at an average of 48,and a S/R of 73.

Here,Ganguly is way ahead of Rahul Dravid.(G7- D1)

• Not-out frequency(total not-outs in total innings)

1. Ganguly- 0.076(23 not-outs in 300 innings)
2. Dravid- 0.125(40 not-outs in 318 innings)

Dravid has higher not-out frequency.(G7- D2)

• Performances in crunch clashes-

Ganguly has 3 tons and a brilliant 83,in the knock-out matches of ICC CWC and ICC Knockout Trophy/Champions’ Trophy. Rahul Dravid hasn’t got even a decent score to show.

Ganguly makes it (8–2) against Dravid in ODIs.

Conclusion in ODIs- Sourav Ganguly was a way better batsman in this format,than Rahul Dravid. Ganguly has single-handedly bailed India out of trouble in several matches,while Dravid has very few moments in his entire ODI career,most notably- his 22-ball-50 against NZ,and being the highest scorer in ICC CWC 1999.

Overall conclusion- The honours have been shared. Rahul Dravid emerged as a better batsman in tests,whilst Ganguly proved his mettle in ODIs.

However,both have got immense contributions to Indian cricket,and will always remain the epitomes of India’s success between the years 1996- 2008.

P. S.- It took exactly 4.5 hours to compile the stats,and then organize this answer. Its my heartiest request to all readers,please read the answer till the end,and please do upvote if you like it.🙏🌝

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Special mention(idea given by Jotham )-

Comparison of batting stats of captain Ganguly and captain Dravid-

In tests-

1. Dravid- 44.51(25 matches)
2. Ganguly- 37.66(49 matches)

So,Dravid was a much better batsman,while captaining team India,than Ganguly,though Ganguly has captained in a lot more tests.

In ODIs-

1. Dravid- 42.2(79 matches)
2. Ganguly- 38.7(147 matches)

Dravid outsmarts Ganguly here too,but again,Ganguly was captain for almost twice as many matches as Dravid.