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12 bowlers who underachieved the most in Test cricket

Harsh Thakor

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In order of merit my 10 most under-achieved bowlers of all time.Compared statistics to ability.

1.Wasim Akram
2.Abdul Qadir
3.Andy Roberts
4.Mitchelle Johnson
5.Michael Holding
6.Subash Gupte
7.Ray Lindwall
8.Kapil Dev
9.Ian Bishop
10.Sarafraz Nawaz
11.Jaggaval Srinath
12.Sylvester Clarke



Wasim Akram never did complete justice to his wizardry who would have taken possibly 500 wickets had he done complete justice to his talent.Reserves of talent unexplored.


Adbul Qadir foxed batsmen more than even Shane Warne with his unplayable googly.


Andy Roberts was in the Lillee class and morally his was the equal of a paceman with an average of around 22


Mitchelle Johnson was potentially the best paceman of his time who could priduce an unplayable combination of bounce.movement and length.


Michael Holding was at his best close to the best paceman of them all who could have averaged less than 22 if he did full justice to his talent.


Subash Gupte was arguably the most complete leg spinner of them all rated better than even Warne than Gary Sobers.


Ray Lindwall was atleast the equal of Lille who could skid and move the ball more.Trueman and Compton rate him the best ever fast bowler.


Kapil Dev may have averaged around 24 had he played for England or Australia.


Ian Bishop was amongst the most versatile paceman of his era.


Sarafraz Naawaz resmbled Richard Hadlee who pionered the art of swing in Pakistan cricket history.On his day as lethal as anyone.


Jagaval Srinath could move a cricket ball more than Kapil and at a more sustained pace.At his best close to Mcgrath or Wasim.


Sylvester Clarke posessed pace of lightning,in the Jeff Thomson class.
 
Akram is a diabetic. That manifested in his stats. Five Day cricket wasn't going to be easy for a diabetic.
 
I think that bowlers like Holding and Roberts didn’t underachieve- that’s a misunderstanding of statistics. They played in a team where the wickets were shared with 3 other guys that were just as good if not better.
 
First 2 for me as well. I’ll add Rangana Herath from volume perspective- he should have reached 600+ surely. I think, Maninder was mishandled by IND. Ian Bishop & Anthony Grey from WIN, Bruce Reid, Massie from AUS, Mo Sami, Saq from PAK, Hirwani, Yougraj from IND ... more versatile list this one than batsman’s list.
 
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-Zulfiqar Babar: Unfortunate to have debut so late when his bowling lost alot of zip and bite.

-Mohammad Asif: His controversies and abilities are well versed.

-Shaun Tait: Good Pace and Sharp but just did not make it big.
 
I don't agree with some of the names on this list, I think Wasim and Kapil both achieved great heights in test cricket. I see no reason to call them underachievers. May be you are looking at someone like Anderson and comparing the stats of Wasim or Kapil against him but that is not fair.

However this list cannot be complete without Shane Bond. MASSIVELY underachieved due to injuries, could have been an all time great.
 
Irfan Pathan is obviously one big miss. He was a bowler who was a superstar coming from a land known for producing great batsmen mostly.
 
Mitchell Johnson. Should have taken 500 test wickets.

Graeme Dilley of England (RIP) should have taken a lot more wickets - he was really quick with an outswinger - but his career was blighted by injury and then he got himself banned.
 
Mitchell Johnson. Should have taken 500 test wickets.

Graeme Dilley of England (RIP) should have taken a lot more wickets - he was really quick with an outswinger - but his career was blighted by injury and then he got himself banned.

Banned for rebel SAF tour I guess. Yes, he should have been one in my names - I hammered head for one English name I couldn’t recall .... Defriters, Fraser, Mallender, Allott ..... now can recall. Quite decent bat as well - started the Leeds revival with ITB.
 
Irfan Pathan is obviously one big miss. He was a bowler who was a superstar coming from a land known for producing great batsmen mostly.

Probably no. If you look at his career, 100 wickets in 30 Tests is great; but it includes 4 Tests for 38 wickets against us in early 2000s & ZIM of initial Mughabe days. 60+ wickets in like 25-26 Tests at close to 50 (& 1, 5 for, IICRC) isn’t anything to be missed. He was a decent bat, could have been a good LO cricketer, but this list is Test specific.
 
Botham should have taken 500 wickets at 25, not 373 at 28.
 
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