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Dale Steyn or Imran Khan - Who would you take as a bowler in the Test format?

Hasan123

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As an overall cricketer Imran is better due to his batting and captaincy. But as a pure bowler who would you take?

Please do not discuss Imrans batting and his captaincy. This thread is solely about who you think is the better test bowler.

Discuss.
 
Tremendous bowlers, both of them. You can't go wrong with either one of them. I'd personally go for Steyn due to his unbelievable strike rate. That however doesn't mean Imran was any less.
 
Very tough. I'll probably have to spilt this: Imran in Asia and Steyn outside.

Both are in the top six pace bowlers of all time.
 
Imran played in a bowlers era while Steyn bowled in a batters era.

One thing going against Steyn is that he didn't bowl against Saffer batters who have been pretty consistent, although Imran didn't get to bowl against Pakistani batsmen, they were decent but not that great at the time.

I am going to say Imran on this one, very very difficult choice.
 
going by all condition it is definitely imran but in asia only imran,out side asia steyn and imran has tough competetion but imran may edge him in australia,
 
in australi steyn was horrible in last series and had fitness issues so over all imran comes good though ststs are about the same.
 
in australi steyn was horrible in last series and had fitness issues so over all imran comes good though ststs are about the same.
He played one game in the last series. His overall record in Australia is decent with an average of 28 and a SR of 50. Whilst Imran's stats in Aus are:
An average of 28
SR 68
 
He played one game in the last series. His overall record in Australia is decent with an average of 28 and a SR of 50. Whilst Imran's stats in Aus are:
An average of 28
SR 68

ok thats almost the same but strikewise steyn wins and he does so overall in term of strike.some of the old posters will answer this,steyn was poor in india series last time .i think was injured but was excellent in srilanka,his stats are world class in asia as well but lags behind khan...
i will pick khan may be he is my countryman so like him more.
 
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Imran's peak was unbelievable but overall I will take Steyn outside Asia. In Asia, reallyno bowler stands a chance against Imran.
 
Both gun bowlers in the test format. Steyn is among the top 1-5 bowlers for me. IK is among the top 5-10 bowlers for me.
 
Imran Khan, he does it with the new ball and the old ball. Tremendous ability to reverse swing and a big inswinger at pace. Plus he had the ability to do it even in his latter years while Steyn tanked in his older year. Injury prone

Steyn's inability in the World Cups is another issue.

While Khan was always a top performer in the two other world cups he bowled.

Steyn a more new ball bowler than the old one.

Imran Khan has done it on flat tracks plenty of times like in India.
 
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Based on what we saw in zipper incident, Steyn would have ran riots in era of no camera. Steyn is gun with old ball and pretty much in his own league with the new ball with few other top bowlers.
 
Based on what we saw in zipper incident, Steyn would have ran riots in era of no camera. Steyn is gun with old ball and pretty much in his own league with the new ball with few other top bowlers.

He also had the great fortune of bowling in home conditions, where him and Philander were absolute GOATS.
 
He also had the great fortune of bowling in home conditions, where him and Philander were absolute GOATS.

Well, Steyn is the only bowler in batsman dominated era with series changing spells in pretty much every single country. Even in bowlers dominated era, it was hard to do.

Anyway, My point was about old ball and new ball. Steyn can use the both very well.
 
Imran Khan as bowler. Phenomenal peak. Top 3 Test bowlers of all time. Steyn in tier below.
 
Based on what we saw in zipper incident, Steyn would have ran riots in era of no camera. Steyn is gun with old ball and pretty much in his own league with the new ball with few other top bowlers.

That's a childish analysis. Steyn would have been gun in any era and so would Imran. Zippers, sweets and nails do not make a legendary bowler otherwise we would not have so few.
 
Imran Khan was certainly better to watch, in my opinion. Big in-swingers are more exciting to than big out-swingers and Imran had that run-up and an extra bit more pace than the Steyn-gun.

However, no bowler has dominated an era like Steyn has. No one comes close to him over the last ten years.
 
Steyn.

Dominated at a time where batsmen were cashing in.

I can only imagine how brilliant Steyn would have been in the 80s on those pitches. He would have destroyed teams in his prime.
 
Imran Khan was a great bowler and GOAT Allrounder, but Steyn is a GOAT as a bowler. There are very few bowlers I would consider better than Steyn in the history of test Cricket, he has one of the best out swing world has ever seen, which is one of the most difficult ball to bowl for RHB. He was very good with reverse swing, can bowl in any condition, dominated in ERA of flat wickets by a mile, had one of the best SR...

As a bowler without a question, I would pick Mighty Steyn, he was my favorite bowler of last 10-15 years or so!!
 
If we speak of them in their prime years, then Imran was a better bowler. Steyn has a tendency to blow hot and cold. He would produce 1 matchwinning performance per series but would tend to go missing for the rest. This is his general tendency. He also was like Waqar in that he was a hit or miss strike bowler. If he struck, he was devastating, if not, he could be taken apart.

Imran had the greatest peak of any major pace bowler, and in his prime years (80 - 88), I dont recall any batsman who took him apart. As with other bowlers like Marshall and Mcgrath, even when he wasnt taking wickets, he would keep things tight. Thats the difference between him and Steyn.

I would put Imran in the top 5 pacers of all-time, and Steyn somewhere between 6-10.
 
I personally admire Steyn as a bowler BUT during Pak's tour to SA (2013?), during one test or two, we all saw Steyn's real egotistical self come out when for a brief period or two, Pak batters did not throw their wicket away as he hoped for and resisted longer than he wanted to. He started acting silly, making gestures, yelling, cursing etc. I was seriously taken aback thinking is this really a gun bowler with 300 wickets who is considered one of the best bowlers ever?

That is the sort of behavior Imran was never known for, he would run in, give it his all, turn around and try all over again and had a very longer run up and an extremely demanding action as well. Not saying he never got frustrated but not to the extent of how Steyn started acting like an infant, trying to throw his toys out of the prom, just because he didn't get his way.

Ability wise Steyn is a better bowler but heart wise, no question at all who was the Lion and who is the Hyenna :-)
 
Well, Steyn is the only bowler in batsman dominated era with series changing spells in pretty much every single country. Even in bowlers dominated era, it was hard to do.

Anyway, My point was about old ball and new ball. Steyn can use the both very well.

Batsmen dominated era? I am sure you are aware of the bowling conditions in SA and the pitches they dish up to touring sides.
 
Steyn.

Dominated at a time where batsmen were cashing in.

I can only imagine how brilliant Steyn would have been in the 80s on those pitches. He would have destroyed teams in his prime.

I guess you need to try and recall what kind of pitches SA serve in tests.
 
Batsmen dominated era? I am sure you are aware of the bowling conditions in SA and the pitches they dish up to touring sides.

Steyn outside of SA : avg 24 & SR 44 [ 10 5-fers and 2 10-fers ]
 
I guess you need to try and recall what kind of pitches SA serve in tests.
They are very good test pitches, arguably the best in the world, SA also do not have the advantage of home umpires anymore!
 
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Imran for me for one reason.

Imran had no support cast for majority of his career - briefly Sarfaraz, Qadir and later on Wasim when Imran was almost done.

Having Mudassir Nazar, Sikandar Bakht and Iqbal Qasim on the other end is different from having Phalinder, Pollock, Ntini, Kallis and Morkel.

Otherwise, both great bowlers.
 
Imran Khan, he does it with the new ball and the old ball. Tremendous ability to reverse swing and a big inswinger at pace. Plus he had the ability to do it even in his latter years while Steyn tanked in his older year. Injury prone

Steyn's inability in the World Cups is another issue.

While Khan was always a top performer in the two other world cups he bowled.

Steyn a more new ball bowler than the old one.

Imran Khan has done it on flat tracks plenty of times like in India.

You do know that all of Steyn's awesome sub-continental performances are due to reverse swing spells. What makes Steyn better than any bowler this era is that he comes in late in the day and bowls the fastest spell of the innings and blows away batting orders.

Saying he's a new ball bowler means you haven't followed his performances much
 
They are very good test pitches, arguably the best in the world, SA also do not have the advantage of home umpires anymore!

Arguably the best test pitches in the world where teams used to be bundled out under 50 for fun. And dont say its because of superiority of SA attack because SA itself have been bundled out under a 100 there on those pitches. Australia, Pakistan and Nz couldnt even reach 50 in some of the innings.
 
Outstanding surely. But not nearly equally as far as i recall his stats. He averages in teens in South Africa i think.

Well that's a tad unfair.

Imran averaged 19.20 at home with biased umpiring.

And 25.76 away from home.
 
Well that's a tad unfair.

Imran averaged 19 at home with biased umpiring.

And 25 away from home.

I am not even saying Imran is superior or anything. Just pointing out flaws in the argument which says he bowls on batting friendly pitches when he has mostly bowled in the fast bowler's paradise.
 
Well that's a tad unfair.

Imran averaged 19.20 at home with biased umpiring.

And 25.76 away from home.
By the way it goes the other way round as well. There was biased umpiring AGAINST Imran in other countries. So it more or less evens out in his overall average one would think.

How much does steyn average in SA? I cant look up the stats this time so we could have a better idea.
 
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By the way it goes the other way round as well. There was biased umpiring AGAINST Imran in other countries. So it more or less evens out in his overall average one would think.

How much does steyn average in SA? I cant look up the stats this time so we could have a better idea.

Steyn:

HOME = 20.94
AWAY = 23.43 (24 if you include neutral Tests)

And indeed, biased umpiring went both ways but was 100x worse in PAK/IND/AUS.

Steyn has done this in a batting-friendly era, which is why he deserves to be rated higher.
 
Steyn seems to be extremely overrated here.

Sure he’s definitely in the top 20 or maybe top 15 but to say he’s a legend and top five of all time is a tad over the top.
 
Steyn:

HOME = 20.94
AWAY = 23.43 (24 if you include neutral Tests)

And indeed, biased umpiring went both ways but was 100x worse in PAK/IND/AUS.

Steyn has done this in a batting-friendly era, which is why he deserves to be rated higher.

Okay his average at home isnt as good as i thought. But my point was that test pitches in SA arent batting friendly. They are the best pitches for fast bowlers apart from Durban.
 
Sadly I never saw Imran play live. So my opinion is subjective, but Steyn is the best bowler I have seen.
 
No doubt , he is very good test bowler .I am yet to see an ATG test team by any ex player or commentator , in which steyn is included .He has very good stats , but he has not played enough tests in last 2 to 3 years so his stats have not nosedived which usually happens to almost all the players when they are in last years of their career . Sachin was averaging around 58 in tests at a time but he could not maintain that due to aging reflexes and his average fell to 53.78 . There is long list of such players . Let's see how he performs when he comes back .He is almost 35 years of age now .
 
And in SA?

If some one is averaging 24 with SR of 44 outside of home then pointing out home record is meaningless. You will be hard pressed to find bowlers who have a combination of avg 24 and SR 44 outside of their home. Steyn did it in batting dominated era so not sure what you are trying to point out there. Just focus on outside if you think that SA pitches gave him unfair advantage.
 
Okay his average at home isnt as good as i thought. But my point was that test pitches in SA arent batting friendly. They are the best pitches for fast bowlers apart from Durban.

Then shouldnt Kallis be rated higher for his 55 average playing half of his games on difficult home pitches?
 
Well that's a tad unfair.

Imran averaged 19.20 at home with biased umpiring.

And 25.76 away from home.

His home average should be higher but his away average should be lower. Same goes for Miandad. Biased umpiring works both ways.

Then shouldnt Kallis be rated higher for his 55 average playing half of his games on difficult home pitches?

He does. South African and English batsmen, Asian pace bowlers and Australasian spinners all deserve extra points for playing their home games in a country that does not favor their craft.
 
Then shouldnt Kallis be rated higher for his 55 average playing half of his games on difficult home pitches?

If he averages that high at home, ofcourse he deserves to be rated highly. His critics only criticise him for playing boring and sometimes impactless innings in tests.
 
You do know that all of Steyn's awesome sub-continental performances are due to reverse swing spells. What makes Steyn better than any bowler this era is that he comes in late in the day and bowls the fastest spell of the innings and blows away batting orders.

Saying he's a new ball bowler means you haven't followed his performances much

If you've seen Imran Khan, then he has done it much more frequently, in conditions with no conduciveness to fast bowling and still managed that Strike Rate.. Steyn has managed that using the zipper.
 
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Imran's best performances : crossed the 10 wicket barrier thrice on flat tracks

  • Sri Lanka Gaddafi Stadium 14/116
  • Australia Sydney CricketGR 12/16
  • India National Stadium 11/79
  • WI Bourda 11/121
  • India Iqbal Stadium 11/180
  • England Headingley 10/77
 
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His home average should be higher but his away average should be lower. Same goes for Miandad. Biased umpiring works both ways.



<B>He does</B>. South African and English batsmen, Asian pace bowlers and Australasian spinners all deserve extra points for playing their home games in a country that does not favor their craft.

He doesn't. He is rated behind all his ATG peers even though his additional suit is better than the others.

I have seen people claiming Lara is miles ahead of Kallis.
 
If some one is averaging 24 with SR of 44 outside of home then pointing out home record is meaningless. You will be hard pressed to find bowlers who have a combination of avg 24 and SR 44 outside of their home. Steyn did it in batting dominated era so not sure what you are trying to point out there. Just focus on outside if you think that SA pitches gave him unfair advantage.

I dont know why you are getting defensive because at no point have i questioned steyn's legendary status. I haven't denied his performances outside SA either.

All i am pointing towards is an innocent fact that you cannot use the fact that this is the batsman's era to make steyn look superior than previous generation bowlers. This, because he has mostly bowled in bowling friendly conditions of SA. If you point to his performances in Asia, then previous generation bowlers like holding, marshall and even Imran have done equally good or better than him. Pitches in Asia have remained more or less the same for both generations bowlers.
 
He doesn't. He is rated behind all his ATG peers even though his additional suit is better than the others.

I have seen people claiming Lara is miles ahead of Kallis.

He is rated highly by me for the fact you mentioned. Third-best all-rounder of all time and just behind Lara and Sachin from modern-day test batsmen.
 
He is rated highly by me for the fact you mentioned. Third-best all-rounder of all time and just behind Lara and Sachin from modern-day test batsmen.

But in general, he is behind Ponting and those two also.
 
Imran.

I personally think Steyn is a little overrated, and I don't think he has come close to producing performances such as Imran's 1982-83 series vs India etc., which is as good as fast bowling in Test cricket can get.
 
Well, Steyn is the only bowler in batsman dominated era with series changing spells in pretty much every single country. Even in bowlers dominated era, it was hard to do.

Anyway, My point was about old ball and new ball. Steyn can use the both very well.

Imran's best performances : crossed the 10 wicket barrier thrice on flat tracks

Sri Lanka Gaddafi Stadium 14/116
Australia Sydney CricketGR 12/16
India National Stadium 11/79
WI Bourda 11/121
India Iqbal Stadium 11/180
England Headingley 10/77

While Steyn has only done it once against SL in Galle.

Imran made his stats on flat wickets in half his home games. Forget the era.

We never complain when Tendulkar scores hundred 100s half of them on batting friendly era the general consensus is Tendulkar was better than Viv.

In a bowling friendly era, Khan had amassed some ridiculous numbers on flat tracks while Steyn has only managed those guns stats in non subcontinental pitches mostly.

Imran was an effort bowler, and his dedication and hard work showed throughout his career while Steyn had a decline that he never was able to bring back.
 
Imran's career strike rate is almost similar to Steyn 22.81 Imran vs 22.2 Steyn
 
Imran.

I personally think Steyn is a little overrated, and I don't think he has come close to producing performances such as Imran's 1982-83 series vs India etc., which is as good as fast bowling in Test cricket can get.

surprising reply .i was not thinking ur choice will be Imran.
 
Imran's best performances : crossed the 10 wicket barrier thrice on flat tracks

Sri Lanka Gaddafi Stadium 14/116
Australia Sydney CricketGR 12/16
India National Stadium 11/79
WI Bourda 11/121
India Iqbal Stadium 11/180
England Headingley 10/77

While Steyn has only done it once against SL in Galle.

Imran made his stats on flat wickets in half his home games. Forget the era.

We never complain when Tendulkar scores hundred 100s half of them on batting friendly era the general consensus is Tendulkar was better than Viv.

In a bowling friendly era, Khan had amassed some ridiculous numbers on flat tracks while Steyn has only managed those guns stats in non subcontinental pitches mostly.

Imran was an effort bowler, and his dedication and hard work showed throughout his career while Steyn had a decline that he never was able to bring back.

What decline? The guy averages in the teens over the past 3 years. Granted he's been injured a lot but that happens to all bowlers at the tail end of their career. Pretty sure even Imran would pick and choose games towards the latter part of his career.
 
What decline? The guy averages in the teens over the past 3 years. Granted he's been injured a lot but that happens to all bowlers at the tail end of their career. Pretty sure even Imran would pick and choose games towards the latter part of his career.

Even in the latter part of his career Imran performed against the big sides and he did really well. On top of picking and choosing he was one of the fittest players in the game.Steyn's decline was sudden and sharp. Nowhere near the bowler he used to be.
 
Imran's career strike rate is almost similar to Steyn 22.81 Imran vs 22.2 Steyn

Those are their averages buddy. Their strike rates are 53.7 and 41.4 respectively. Here Steyn trumps every great bowler in history so no point having a discussion on strike rate.
 
Even in the latter part of his career Imran performed against the big sides and he did really well. On top of picking and choosing he was one of the fittest players in the game.Steyn's decline was sudden and sharp. Nowhere near the bowler he used to be.

If it's longevity we're comparing then yes, Imran Khan wins there comprehensively.
 
Even in the latter part of his career Imran performed against the big sides and he did really well. On top of picking and choosing he was one of the fittest players in the game.Steyn's decline was sudden and sharp. Nowhere near the bowler he used to be.

The workload is incomparable.

In 1983, Imran played 5 Tests and 8 ODIs.

In 1989, Imran played 3 Tests and 9 ODIs.

While..

In 2008, Steyn played 13 Tests, 12 ODIs, 1 T20I

In 2010, Steyn played 11 Tests, 8 ODIs, 7 T20Is.
 
The workload is incomparable.

In 1983, Imran played 5 Tests and 8 ODIs.

In 1989, Imran played 3 Tests and 9 ODIs.

While..

In 2008, Steyn played 13 Tests, 12 ODIs, 1 T20I

In 2010, Steyn played 11 Tests, 8 ODIs, 7 T20Is.

Was Steyn declining in 2010? I don't think those, those were his peak years.
 
Was Steyn declining in 2010? I don't think those, those were his peak years.

It's the accumulation of rapid wear and tear.

Your body doesn't regenerate after the conclusion of a season.

This is the point I'm making, which illustrates Imran's longevity is a mirage based on his lesser yearly workload. Now it doesn't take credit away from him but it adds context.

Imran played 20 years.

Steyn has done the same amount of work in 11!
 
It's the accumulation of rapid wear and tear.

Your body doesn't regenerate after the conclusion of a season.

This is the point I'm making, which illustrates Imran's longevity is a mirage based on his lesser yearly workload. Now it doesn't take credit away from him but it adds context.

Imran played 20 years.
,
Steyn has done the same amount of work in 11!

Steyn has been substandard in terms of fitness as compared to some of the other contemporaries like Mcgrath, Anderson, Stuart Broad, Shaun Pollock from his era 2004-2016

who have played more games than Steyn in more or less the same time

Imran went through a career threatening injury but he managed to come back after a 2-3 year layoff while Steyn was never able to make that sort of come back despite being only 34.

Other bowlers have come back after injuries, decreased their pace and still managed to pick up but Steyn has been weak in that aspect.

Not to enter Imran's batting into the debate, but being a batsman has its toll on a bowler too when you can do two things at once. You have to be supremely fit for that.
 
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Steyn best numbers are against the weaker teams of his era in terms of batting Bangladesh Windies N Zealand he doesn't do aswell against England and Australia.
Against the best team of his era Windies Imran has the best average he was one for the big matches and for that reason he would be ahead of Steyn.
 
Steyn.

Dominated at a time where batsmen were cashing in.

I can only imagine how brilliant Steyn would have been in the 80s on those pitches. He would have destroyed teams in his prime.

Abbot Philander Rabada also average 22 albeit playing less matches perhaps being a South African fast bowler isn't an issue they do produce some nice wickets at home.
 
Abbot Philander Rabada also average 22 albeit playing less matches perhaps being a South African fast bowler isn't an issue they do produce some nice wickets at home.

If Abbot, Vern and Rabada manage to average 24 outside of home with SR of 44 , do you think that talking about home and away adds anything meaningful?
 
I dont know why you are getting defensive because at no point have i questioned steyn's legendary status. I haven't denied his performances outside SA either.

All i am pointing towards is an innocent fact that you cannot use the fact that this is the batsman's era to make steyn look superior than previous generation bowlers. This, because he has mostly bowled in bowling friendly conditions of SA. If you point to his performances in Asia, then previous generation bowlers like holding, marshall and even Imran have done equally good or better than him. Pitches in Asia have remained more or less the same for both generations bowlers.

You can certainly use that argument because I just showed you that he averaged 24 with SR of 44 outside of SA. I wasn't trying to show his legendary status here because there is no need for that.

Marshall, IK, and Holding era was not dominated by batsmen. You can look up the averages of batting sides. That era was dominated by bowlers.

You don't have to judge anything. Facts are available to see if it was batsmen dominated era or bowlers dominated era.
 
As an overall cricketer Imran is better due to his batting and captaincy. But as a pure bowler who would you take?

Please do not discuss Imrans batting and his captaincy. This thread is solely about who you think is the better test bowler.

Discuss.

Steyn. Reasons have been very eloquently stated by [MENTION=97523]Buffet[/MENTION]
 
You can certainly use that argument because I just showed you that he averaged 24 with SR of 44 outside of SA. I wasn't trying to show his legendary status here because there is no need for that.

Marshall, IK, and Holding era was not dominated by batsmen. You can look up the averages of batting sides. That era was dominated by bowlers.

You don't have to judge anything. Facts are available to see if it was batsmen dominated era or bowlers dominated era.

This argument never comes up when Tendulkar is compared to Viv, or Kohli compared to Tendulkar or Viv. So I hold the vice versa true for bowlers as well.
 
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