Fan favourites of modern Pakistan players among Indians

[iniqbal223]

I have been living in US for last 10 years , and had many chance to interact with Indian cricket lovers. Many times, I have seen they have lots of likings for Misbah-ul-Haq, Akmal Brothers, Hafeez and Malik. They specially likes Kamran and Misbah.

I am really shocked to hear the names. I really don't understand why they would love and support them...

 

[Saj]

Why not.

Pakistani fans admire some Indian platers too.

In fact Kapil Dev, Azharrudin, Dravid are amongst my favourite cricketers.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I like Younis Khan. My personal favorite. Likable guy wearing a smile always.

 

[tyron_woodley]

heaps of them. my fav list;
moyo
younis
babar
shaheen afridi
wasim

 

[charlie007]

I really liked Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Abdul Qadir, and Wasim Bari. Of course I would want India to win all the time, but you would have to be an absolute a'ole to not appreciate the top notch skills and determination these players displayed consistently.
I also like Wasim, Waqar, and MoYo.
I feel by all means support your own country, but still be appreciative of performance when you see it, wherever it may come from.

 

[Rana]

I have been living in US for last 10 years , and had many chance to interact with Indian cricket lovers. Many times, I have seen they have lots of likings for Misbah-ul-Haq, Akmal Brothers, Hafeez and Malik. They specially likes Kamran and Misbah.

I am really shocked to hear the names. I really don't understand why they would love and support them...

Kamran was a star in the final for of IPL 1.

Plus his 100 at Karachi was one of the best ever Test knocks in history. India v Pakistan is a steller Test match contest with higher stakes than the Ashes, and that innings at Karachi was top draw in a very high intensity match under severe circumstances.

 

[ind_win]

Hated and admired saeed anwar. Anwar was so soothing on the eyes. Would want his 194 removed from the records, if possible.
Plus wasim akram, the swinging threat for Indian middle to lower order.

 

[CricketDon]

No surprise the name Umar or Kamran were mentioned. Pakistan batting is mundane and boring and lacked live. These two injected it and on there day had the fans in awe.

Still remember Umar Akmal 96 against Australia

 

[jnaveen1980]

Forgot another guy i like is Asif Iqbal. Probably the only commie from Pakistan i liked.

 

[BreadPakoda]

Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram would be my top 3 Pakistani players. I have secretly rooted for Wahab Riaz and Sarfaraz Ahmed at times.

 

[zain7077]

I feel like they like Malik

 

[Hitman]

Wasim Akram.

 

[CanadianG00se]

Wasim
Akhtar
Saqlain

 

[JattMaula]

Fan for life.

 

[JaDed]

Wasim
Anwar
Saqlain
Shoaib
Lala

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

I liked Razzaq and Ajmal. From current lot sadly none

 

[Mesozoic]

I was a huge fan of Afridi. Loved watching him bat with a don't care attitude. Only times I wanted him to get out early was the 2007 final and the 2011 SF and he didn't disappoint me even there.

Of the contemporaries I like the other Afridi i.e Shaheen. He certainly brought back that x-factor back into the Pak bowling attack.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Didn't like anyone in the 2011-2017 era but ive been a fan of Shaheen since watching him in the U-19 world cup.

 

[Stumper]

I am huge Fan of Wasim Akram, Man i have not seen any left armer better then him.After him I like Jijaji(though he always score runs against us)

 

[Thomaskutty]

I doubt indian fans have any favorites among the current crop of Pak players. They're a bit bland.



I remember mentioning after the CT final that Fakhar Zaman was the most exciting thing I've seen since the two Ws. Sadly, he has fizzled out after that one amazing performance and has became an

 

[JattMaula]

I doubt indian fans have any favorites among the current crop of Pak players. They're a bit bland.



I remember mentioning after the CT final that Fakhar Zaman was the most exciting thing I've seen since the two Ws. Sadly, he has fizzled out after that one amazing performance and has became an

I like new Afridi. He has that genuine jazba.

 

[andy0204]

Shoaib Akhtar
Waqar Younis
Sharjeel Khan
Kamran Akmal
One and only Shahid 'Lala' Afridi.

 

[pillionrider]

Kamran Akmal - mostly for that test knock.
Misbah - people feel he's a decent, good sincere guy. Also feel sorry for him about his one-man show in the 2007 T20 WC final and failure against Joginder Sharma of all. You'd see Indian fans laughing about a player like Joginder actually getting away with his garbage and instead pitying Misbah.
Umar Akmal - many felt he was very talented. For some reason I've known several who at the time of his emergence thought he was better than Kohli. I didn't though I liked Umar.
Hafeez - again decent nice guy who's done well vs India
Shoaib Malik - got some hate after his 'Muslims support' comment but people forgot after he married Sania. Won't say he's loved. Liked and respected though. Does well vs India too.

Perennial favorites of your typical Indian fan above the age of 30:
Wasim Akram
Saqlain Mushtaq
Saeed Anwar
Afridi
Imran Khan
Imran Nazir

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

Always loved Dravid, Dhoni and dada. I will also admit that Sehwag instilled fear whenever he batted and I always admired Gambhir and Yuvraj for the great fighters they are. Man, wish we had players of such panache playing for us!

 

[iniqbal223]

This was googlie, because many said they liked the way Akmal drops the catch and liked Misbah's 2011 WC match against India..

 

[murakh1]

I love to watch and never getting bored 1)inzamam ul haq
2)Shoaib Akhtar
3)Salman butt
4)Mohammad Asif
5)wasim Akram
6)waqar younis
7)Saeed Anwar
8)Saeed Ajmal
9) Babar Azam obviously

 

[happydavy]

For me, one and only Saqlain Mushtaq. I had modeled my bowling action on his ..Loved him as he brought in a new dimension to off spin bowling and made it glamorous...He deserved to finish with 400 ODI and 400 test wickets, but i think the lure of county destroyed his career, more than general belief that overuse of doosra was responsible for ending his career.

Being an offie i used to observe other offies quite closely and i distinctly remember that before Saqlain became regular in Pakistani team, there was a Pak India match in Singapore where Saqlain got Manjrekar out caught when he tried to sweep him. I remember telling my friend at that moment that the ball turned the other way when manjrekar tried to sweep.

 

[dildilpak]

Was a big Tendulkar & Dravid fan back in the day, now enjoy watching Kohli. I remember watching Ganguly taking out his short & giving it back to Flintoff on Lords’ balcony & thinking thats some swag - only Lala could have matched that!

 

[Mamoon]

Don’t think they are any fan favorites these days. It is hard to be fans of rubbish players.

I think Babar is the only player that they admire, probably because he is the only who can get into their team.

They seem to respect Amir as well, although they have far better bowlers than him in all formats.

 

[zain7077]

Don’t think they are any fan favorites these days. It is hard to be fans of rubbish players.

I think Babar is the only player that they admire, probably because he is the only who can get into their team.

They seem to respect Amir as well, although they have far better bowlers than him in all formats.

Shaheen?

 

[Walawalkar]

My mom is Big Fan of Afridi
Not many exciting players in current lot apart from Babar

 

[Mamoon]

Shaheen?

I haven’t heard seen many Indians talk about him. Babar and Amir are usually the most talked about Pakistani players among Indian fans.

Babar because he is the only genuine world class player in Pakistan, and Amir because he has put in some notable performances against India.

 

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

There are no current Pakistan players that are popular or famous/infamous in India anymore. Maybe Amir is an exception. But I don't think even Babar is popular or a "fan favourite" in India. All popular Pakistani players are from the 90s.

 

[BlueBeamer]

Among the current lot, I feel Shaheen is the most the exciting player.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Shaheen hasnt done anything tbh.
Babar is good but he doesnt have the status of saeed anwar, akhtar coz he has no innings of substance against us.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

There are no current Pakistan players that are popular or famous/infamous in India anymore. Maybe Amir is an exception. But I don't think even Babar is popular or a "fan favourite" in India. All popular Pakistani players are from the 90s.

Babar, Amir, Malik, Hafeez, Shaheen, Shadab, Hasan are popular in India and will fetch decent IPL contracts.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Babar, Amir, Malik, Hafeez, Shaheen, Shadab, Hasan are popular in India and will fetch decent IPL contracts.

What has rubbish IPL contracts got to do with the popularity of Pakistani players in India?

 

[Mesozoic]

Babar, Amir, Malik, Hafeez, Shaheen, Shadab, Hasan are popular in India and will fetch decent IPL contracts.

No they are not. Babar is known to only hardcore followers. Him, Shaheen, Shadab and Hasan can roam around streets of Mumbai with no-one even bothering them. Amir, Malik and Hafeez are popular though. And I don't think anyone barring Amir, Babar and maybe Shaheen would get an IPL contract.

Things have changed a lot since the 90s, a time when Pakistani cricketers were the most popular foreign cricketers in India. Now , they are replaced by Australians, English and the Caribbeans.

 

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

Babar, Amir, Malik, Hafeez, Shaheen, Shadab, Hasan are popular in India and will fetch decent IPL contracts.

I'm sure they will fetch IPL contracts, but they're not "popular" in India. Just because Dan Christian would fetch an IPL contract doesn't mean he's popular here. People here don't look forward to an India-Pakistan match because Hafeez, Shaheen or Shadab are playing. They look forward to it just because it's Pakistan and they want to see India beat them. There is no Pakistani player that Indians think they need to watch out for like there used to be with Inzy, Yousuf, Younus, Waqar, Wasim, Akhtar etc.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

What has rubbish IPL contracts got to do with the popularity of Pakistani players in India?

I felt IPL gives you a general an idea of this. Who are the players that you like from our team currently?

 

[sharmaji]

Babar, Shaheen, Amir from current team.

Younis, Inzamam, Anwar, Wasim, Shoaib, Saqlain and Yousuf from the ones I watched play.

 

[Pakhs]

No they are not. Babar is known to only hardcore followers. Him, Shaheen, Shadab and Hasan can roam around streets of Mumbai with no-one even bothering them. Amir, Malik and Hafeez are popular though. And I don't think anyone barring Amir, Babar and maybe Shaheen would get an IPL contract.

Things have changed a lot since the 90s, a time when Pakistani cricketers were the most popular foreign cricketers in India. Now , they are replaced by Australians, English and the Caribbeans.

Every one of them will be recognized on Mumbai streets and you know what will happen to them. Hope this will never happen. They are Muslims and on top Pakistanis.

 

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

Every one of them will be recognized on Mumbai streets and you know what will happen to them.

Maybe Shaheen will be recognized but I don't think many people will recognize Shadab or Hasan.

 

[Pakpak]

Kamran was a star in the final for of IPL 1.

Plus his 100 at Karachi was one of the best ever Test knocks in history. India v Pakistan is a steller Test match contest with higher stakes than the Ashes, and that innings at Karachi was top draw in a very high intensity match under severe circumstances.

Star? He made 6

 

[Pakhs]

Maybe Shaheen will be recognized but I don't think many people will recognize Shadab or Hasan.

Hasan will be recognized and dealt with I remember how big a news he was in India due to his border antics.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

No current psk player has that swag or aura we love and prev gen had. To an extent Shaheen has. Babar is bland and he has never played a match winning knock against India so many do not rate him much.

 

[Varun]

Misbah and Babar for mine.

 

[Sidilicious]

Given that we had previously seen Wasim, Waqas, Akhtar, Saqlain, Saeed Anwar and Afridi, I won’t necessarily turn on the tv to watch any of the current lot play. However, I do have immense respect for someone like Babar and Misbah.
Shaheen has potential to be a great, but not in the same league as Wasim Waqar. Md Amir of 2010 had that aura but none of the current ones do.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

No current psk player has that swag or aura we love and prev gen had. To an extent Shaheen has. Babar is bland and he has never played a match winning knock against India so many do not rate him much.

But Indian twitter thinks differently. Babar is often compared with Kohli or even ridiculed whenever he fails. Insecurity much? What is wrong in admitting he's a good player?

 

[JattMaula]

But Indian twitter thinks differently. Babar is often compared with Kohli or even ridiculed whenever he fails. Insecurity much? What is wrong in admitting he's a good player?

Babar is better batsman than our kaptaan who fails when it matters.

 

[dhawan]

Wasim Akram, Saqlain and Inzamam

 

[jeetu]

All time - Wasim , Imran and Waqar are my top 3.
Present lot - Babar

 

[rudra]

None from the present generation so far.
Imran Nazir was the last one.

 

[sweep_shot]

My favorite Pakistani players from present team: Babar, Shaheen, and Naseem.

My favorite Pakistani players from the past: Inzamam, Saeed Anwar, Wasim Akam, Shahid Afridi, and Moin Khan.

 

[Balthazar]

Not familiar with the current Pakistani players. I admired Yousaf and Afridi, back in those days.

 

[MRSN]

No current psk player has that swag or aura we love and prev gen had. To an extent Shaheen has. Babar is bland and he has never played a match winning knock against India so many do not rate him much.

got undone by a beauty from Kuldeep otherwise he was playing a brilliant knock in the recently concluded world cup. Also played well in the CT final.

 

[BaankeJi]

Shaheen and Imam from current team.
Akram, Waqar and Inzi from yesteryears.

 

[silent ischemia]

Shoaib Akhtar.
Once an Indian asked me where I come from? I said Rawalpindi and suddenly he said O Shoaib Akhtar's city

 

[minamino]

Shoaib Akhtar. A lot of Bollywood movies even used his reference.

 

[praveen]

Supported and loved the entire team, even the mediocre ones till the '99 world cup, supported them against India as well. Liked watching Ijaz, Salim, Aaqib, Akthar, Wasim and Waqar play. Anwar and Saqlain were my favorites. Wasn't a big fan of Sohail and Inzi though.

Nobody since 2000's except Babar.

 

[Mamoon]

Fans in general only admire players from other teams if (a) they are world class and/or (b) they raise their game against their team.

Apart from Babar, who only fulfills criteria (a), none of our players fit the bill.

 

[Saj]

That Sehwag was one damn good player.

Always feared him when he was at the crease.

 

[Hyperion66]

I was a huge fan of Wasim and Shoaib during their playing days. Not a fan but I like Imam ul Haq from the current Pak team.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

But Indian twitter thinks differently. Babar is often compared with Kohli or even ridiculed whenever he fails. Insecurity much? What is wrong in admitting he's a good player?

So far he has not played a special knock/ scored a century against us but that does not mean he is not a good player, he needs to score against us so that most people who watch only Indian matches admire him. More people kniw Fajhar Zaman because of his century than Babar, we know him because we watch all cricket not just Indian.

 

[Hitman]

Except Babar Azam, there is no one to admire in the current Pak team.