Imran Khan's greatness as a bowler alone

[Bilbo]

Imran Khan's bowling stats, this I didn't know

Although I watched immi and miandad while growing up, I still remember the 82-83 demolition of Indian batting powerhouse at the hands of Imran, but never looked at the stats of his bowling during his golden period, during which he had to sit out for two years due to stress fracture. Imran Khan took 154 wickets at an average of 14.8 in Tests from 1981 to 1986.
Its easier to understand why, the world had no answer to his fast and monstrously huge in-dippers!

Take a bow great man!

 

[akheR]

Also keep in mind that the majority of his games were played in Asia... astonishing.

What is even more impressive to me, because we generally judge him as an all rounder, is...

...in his last 10 years of international cricket he played 51 Tests, averaging a sensational 50 with the bat and 19 with the ball

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/40560.html

...wow.

 

[liaqat]

what a man,
shame wasim became a corrupt individual , he was destined to glory also, amir was also destined to go on and achieve great things but greed got the better of him,

 

[Sankalp]

what a man,
shame wasim became a corrupt individual , he was destined to glory also, amir was also destined to go on and achieve great things but greed got the better of him,

Wasim as a bowler was more talented and skillful than Imran

 

[munda_khi]

Although I watched immi and miandad while growing up, I still remember the 82-83 demolition of Indian batting powerhouse at the hands of Imran, but never looked at the stats of his bowling during his golden period, during which he had to sit out for two years due to stress fracture. Imran Khan took 154 wickets at an average of 14.8 in Tests from 1981 to 1986.
Its easier to understand why, the world had no answer to his fast and monstrously huge in-dippers!

Take a bow great man!

although imran was one of the best bowler ever and he has some amazing performances including the destruction of indian batting in 82-83 but indian batting at that time was far from a powerhouse.

 

[akheR]

although imran was one of the best bowler ever and he has some amazing performances including the destruction of indian batting in 82-83 but indian batting at that time was far from a powerhouse.

True that, apart from the obvious Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Amarnath and perhaps Viswanath (he wasn't at his best in his last years... Gavaskar said that he was the better bat, but probably talking more of the one of the 70s than early 80s) I don't know how India's batting could be called 'powerhouse'.

 

[Sankalp]

True that, apart from the obvious Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Amarnath and perhaps Viswanath (he wasn't at his best in his last years... Gavaskar said that he was the better bat, but probably talking more of the one of the 70s than early 80s) I don't know how India's batting could be called 'powerhouse'.

He never bowled to the man (or shall I say god) himself
Who knows stats might have been different.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Wasim though was more skillful but imran was more effective.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Phenomenal, this man was something else. Just goes to show what a man can achieve by putting his mind and soul into it. I believe when he started off he wasn't very special? Then he complete;ly transformed himself as a man and a cricketer in a break and i don't know if he got injured or dropped. Very inspirational.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Phenomenal, this man was something else. Just goes to show what a man can achieve by putting his mind and soul into it. I believe when he started off he wasn't very special? Then he complete;ly transformed himself as a man and a cricketer in a break and i don't know if he got injured or dropped. Very inspirational.

He is a perfect example of how hardwork and determination can work wonders , waqar and wasim were so gifted but didn't have half the determination Imran had. Imran changed the course of pakistan cricket against australia in 1976 with bowling fast and furious for 4 hours from one end and after that pakistan became a real threat to world cricket. Pakistan owes so much to him.

 

[akheR]

Phenomenal, this man was something else. Just goes to show what a man can achieve by putting his mind and soul into it. I believe when he started off he wasn't very special? Then he complete;ly transformed himself as a man and a cricketer in a break and i don't know if he got injured or dropped. Very inspirational.

He himself says that he was the least talented man you'll come across, but hard-work, commitment, fitness, ... did the job.

TONS of Pak bowlers should have learned from him.

 

[waqar_ahmad]

Wasim as a bowler was more talented and skillful than Imran

This takes Imran's greatness even higher. He wasnt talented and skillful. Everything he achieved was due to shear will and hard work.

Imran would be the first name on my list, if I was to ever select a team

 

[shah_1]

Imran the great man

 

[waqar_ahmad]

Phenomenal, this man was something else. Just goes to show what a man can achieve by putting his mind and soul into it. I believe when he started off he wasn't very special? Then he complete;ly transformed himself as a man and a cricketer in a break and i don't know if he got injured or dropped. Very inspirational.

He got dropped after his first test, and didnt play until 3 years later.

Talking about hard work, will and determination, he transformed himself from a medium pacer to an out and out fast bowler. He went against the advice of his coaches, who said he wasnt built for fast bowling. He transformed his action all by himself, without any help. How many bowlers have you heard who did that? None....

 

[Bhaijaan]

Natural gifts are a curse to many. I do believe that there are more naturally gifted failed cricketers than there are talentless grafters?

Also people's perception is always quite harsh on such naturally gifted folks, Yuvraj despite being one of the finest ODI players with more than 8,000 runs and with the claim of winning India its two recent world cups is still mentioned as someone who failed to fulfill his true potential while a Praveen Kumar is lauded for going through all the hardships to finally deliver a 130kph delivery for India. lol what a pity!

 

[waqar_ahmad]

Natural gifts are a curse to many. I do believe that there are more naturally gifted failed cricketers than there are talentless grafters?

Also people's perception is always quite harsh on such naturally gifted folks, Yuvraj despite being one of the finest ODI players with more than 8,000 runs and with the claim of winning India its two recent world cups is still mentioned as someone who failed to fulfill his true potential while a Praveen Kumar is lauded for going through all the hardships to finally deliver a 130kph delivery for India. lol what a pity!

The thing is, talentless grafters rarely achieve greatness. Most of the great players have been talented individuals.

Imran was talentless, and achieved greatness. That's special

 

[murphyslaw79]

Natural gifts are a curse to many. I do believe that there are more naturally gifted failed cricketers than there are talentless grafters?

Also people's perception is always quite harsh on such naturally gifted folks, Yuvraj despite being one of the finest ODI players with more than 8,000 runs and with the claim of winning India its two recent world cups is still mentioned as someone who failed to fulfill his true potential while a Praveen Kumar is lauded for going through all the hardships to finally deliver a 130kph delivery for India. lol what a pity!

Luv the Praveen Kumar part ) quote of the week for me

 

[JibranAnsari]

The thing is, talentless grafters rarely achieve greatness. Most of the great players have been talented individuals.

Imran was talentless, and achieved greatness. That's special

Imran was not talentless , he refined his talent with hardwork and determination.

 

[pacesensation]

what i liked is his hardwork and determination. By the way do any of you have any idea that how fast he was. I heard that his fastest would have been something like 148 to 151 by current standards

 

[saiyan0312]

Imran was the perfect example of genius is 99% perspiration and 1% percent inspiration. Meaning that a pure genius is one percent talented and 99 percent hard work.... he improved both his bowling and batting and became a devastating all rounder.. A dream for every team.. a batsmen who can play according to the situation and a bowler who can bowl fast and take wickets...

One word describes him and without a doubt it suits him and that is LEGEND.

 

[saiyan0312]

what i liked is his hardwork and determination. By the way do any of you have any idea that how fast he was. I heard that his fastest would have been something like 148 to 151 by current standards

there were no speed guns so cant really say.

 

[zeikz123]

Legen..... wait for it ...... dary

 

[lilFlip]

Wow. Legendary stats!! Greatest all rounder from SC and arguably greatest all rounder of all time!

 

[Zarrar]

Wasim as a bowler was more talented and skillful than Imran

Talented, perhaps, skillful, highly doubt it...less accomplished than Imran, surely...

So on 2 out of 3 counts, Imran was vastly superior, though, he must have had some talent to perform the way he did...either way Imran was a much better bowler...

Imran can be considered an all time greatest fast bowler, certainly peaked the highest amongst all bowlers post WWI!...Wasim was not even the best fast of his generation...at least two bowlers were ahead of him throughout his career...

 

[Savak]

Whats more remarkable is that Imran was not as naturally talented as Wasim, Waqar, Akhtar and still managed to achieve such legendary stats. In Fact he scores higher than Wasim IMO given the fact he had took his batting equally seriously.

 

[Savak]

Imran was clocked at 148 km/hr at the age of 36 during the 1987 WC. That was his last year at his peak speed. He went downhill after that.

 

[pacesensation]

well i am saying this in estimation that how fast he looks.

 

[pacesensation]

you are saying by estimation coze in 87 there were not speedguns in atleast india and pak and he was 34 in 87

 

[cricketjoshila]

True that, apart from the obvious Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Amarnath and perhaps Viswanath (he wasn't at his best in his last years... Gavaskar said that he was the better bat, but probably talking more of the one of the 70s than early 80s) I don't know how India's batting could be called 'powerhouse'.

IK along with Hadlee and Marshall were the three bowlers of that era.Lillee was not in that league TBH.

And yes Indian batting line up in those days was NO power house.

Imran was an amazingly talented guy plus he put in the hard yards.A very big inspiration for bowlers all around the world.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Imran was clocked at 148 km/hr at the age of 36 during the 1987 WC. That was his last year at his peak speed. He went downhill after that.

Never read anything like that.

The only speed that i know of IK being clocked was in Australia and he clocked around 142ks.

 

[akheR]

IK along with Hadlee and Marshall were the three bowlers of that era.Lillee was not in that league TBH.

And yes Indian batting line up in those days was NO power house.

Imran was an amazingly talented guy plus he put in the hard yards.A very big inspiration for bowlers all around the world.

Still think both Hadlee and Marshall were better bowlers... wasn't Ian Botham highly rated too ? Whereas Immy was getting better, Ian Botham did the opposite...

Never read anything like that.

The only speed that i know of IK being clocked was in Australia and he clocked around 142ks.

Was it when he was only behind Thomson and Holding ? I think they weren't clocked around the 150 mark either.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Lillee not in the league? Come on yar. Surely not as great as IK but he was quite a star.

 

[battler]

imran khan and rahul dravid are two names which come to mind when u think about hard working determined cricketers.

 

[Usman]

Natural gifts are a curse to many. I do believe that there are more naturally gifted failed cricketers than there are talentless grafters?

Also people's perception is always quite harsh on such naturally gifted folks, Yuvraj despite being one of the finest ODI players with more than 8,000 runs and with the claim of winning India its two recent world cups is still mentioned as someone who failed to fulfill his true potential while a Praveen Kumar is lauded for going through all the hardships to finally deliver a 130kph delivery for India. lol what a pity!

Forget Parveen, why is everyone so crazy about Dinda? Every time he comes on to bowl, either Ramiz or Gaveskear will say "he's such a hard worker"! Meanwhile I'm thinking, that may be true, but if you're not good enough, what difference does it make? I could try my hardest and bowler at trundler speed, doesn't mean the cricket world should stand up to applaud my talent!

 

[Bilbo]

Imran Khan's bowling stats, this I didn't know

Wasim as a bowler was more talented and skillful than Imran

But, Imran delivered more, plus ran groomed Akram

 

[Bilbo]

Imran Khan's bowling stats, this I didn't know

what i liked is his hardwork and determination. By the way do any of you have any idea that how fast he was. I heard that his fastest would have been something like 148 to 151 by current standards

There was a speed test in which he ce 3rd after thomo and holding, I believe he was between 90 to 95 during his peak,

 

[akheR]

Forget Parveen, why is everyone so crazy about Dinda? Every time he comes on to bowl, either Ramiz or Gaveskear will say "he's such a hard worker"! Meanwhile I'm thinking, that may be true, but if you're not good enough, what difference does it make? I could try my hardest and bowler at trundler speed, doesn't mean the cricket world should stand up to applaud my talent!

Because Dinda jumps poetically like a graceful deer.


And apparently gets hunted down by the batsmen like one too.

 

[Bilbo]

Imran Khan's bowling stats, this I didn't know

Imran had the straightest of bats in the entire Pak line-up, and stylish stance that of a tiger

 

[Bhaijaan]

Forget Parveen, why is everyone so crazy about Dinda? Every time he comes on to bowl, either Ramiz or Gaveskear will say "he's such a hard worker"! Meanwhile I'm thinking, that may be true, but if you're not good enough, what difference does it make? I could try my hardest and bowler at trundler speed, doesn't mean the cricket world should stand up to applaud my talent!

Also hard work is not much without some thinking involved. You gotta be doing it in the right manner and in the right direction. Reminds me of my silly cousin who wanted to become Batista (good lord! ), poor fellow would smack his fists and sometimes even head on the walls, i swear to Sachin i am not lying. LOL ) ) That's an honest trier for you.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Still think both Hadlee and Marshall were better bowlers... wasn't Ian Botham highly rated too ? Whereas Immy was getting better, Ian Botham did the opposite...



Was it when he was only behind Thomson and Holding ? I think they weren't clocked around the 150 mark either.

Marshall is THE BOWLER.

Hadlee and IK are the same for me.

Thomson was coming from a 12-18 month hiatus and won the competetion by clockung 148ks.Dont remember the speed of Holding.

IK in my opinion was 140-145 K bowler.

 

[asifp]

Imran had the most deadly in dipper / in cutter the world has ever seen. The ball would come a foot inside after pitching.

 

[asifp]

Marshall is THE BOWLER.

Hadlee and IK are the same for me.

Thomson was coming from a 12-18 month hiatus and won the competetion by clockung 148ks.Dont remember the speed of Holding.

IK in my opinion was 140-145 K bowler.

Marshall was AWESOME, however it does help if your bowling alongside some of the greatest fast bowlers of all time.

 

[Zaz]

Imran was awesome, perhaps just a bit behind marshall or hadlee in bowling but coupled with the fact he was a quality genuine bat and a great captain makes him one of the greatest cricketers ever

 

[Bilbo]

Imran Khan's bowling stats, this I didn't know

Imran was awesome, perhaps just a bit behind marshall or hadlee in bowling but coupled with the fact he was a quality genuine bat and a great captain makes him one of the greatest cricketers ever

He is an automatic choice before marshal and hadlee for the reasons you already mentioned

 

[saeed-sohail]

Imran Khan's bowling stats, this I didn't know

Been saying for years Imran was the best fast bowler we produced by a mile. I find it insulting when kids say Wasim is better then him.

 

[Bilal7]

Legend. True Legend. What is his competition for greatest cricketer of all time?

 

[Red Devil]

What a Legend!

Easily the best Cricketer Pakistan ever produced!

 

[Dr_Bassim]

That's why I have him in the signature. ...

To remind me .. that TTF's like Malik and others are not even close

 

[akheR]

Legend. True Legend. What is his competition for greatest cricketer of all time?

Sir Garry Sobers really, who was more of a batting all-rounder and who should be compared with the likes of Jacques Kallis and not Khan, Hadlee, Dev or Botham (or even Pollock more recently).

 

[kungfu90]

^ Keith Miller and Imran have very similar stats. But IK's captaincy is another of his plus points.

 

[MMHS]

At that period, IK batted at 40+ average, in an era when only the likes of Viv, Javed, Sunil or Greg could maintain average of 50 & the likes of Vishi, Gower, Crowe, Kim Huges, Grineedge, Lyod or Zaheer could manage in mid 40s. He lost his best 3 years of career (He stopped bowling after Mar '83 & till Dec '86, wasn't the same bowler; by the time he was 34), yet finished with figures as good as anyone. Outstanding all-rounder & a great personality, leader, motivator & promoter of youth. I believe, at his peak he could reach 150KM, but more of 140-145KM bowler, & he could swing the ball, swing it exceptionally with new, semi-old & old balls. I think, apart from in-deeper, he could swing the ball inwards & after pitching hold the line. Probably, he had better control of swing than Wasim.

IK is probably the only cricketer in history, who was among top 10 Batsmen & Bowler in the world at the same time. Sometimes in between Oct '86 to Jan '90, Imran must had been among top 10 Batsmen for his outstanding batting against WI, IND, ENG, WI & AUS (He was No. 1 Bowler after the Leeds Test '87 & probably after Karachi '86 vs WI & Georgetown in '88 & must be among to 10 through-out). & between '80 to '82, he was probably among top 5 in both for some period. Imran was handicapped by injury, Packer boycott & PAK playing very few Tests (after '75, next time PAK visited WI in '88!!!!), otherwise he would have been the first & only player with 500+ wickets & 5,000+ runs.

Despite being born in a country with very little Cricket culture & heritage, 2 great men were behind my passion to this great game in my childhood, particularly Test Cricket - the second one was Viv Richards.

 

[justarslan]

Lillee not in the league? Come on yar. Surely not as great as IK but he was quite a star.

Lillee was the one who inspired Great Khan to become fast bowler after he saw him when Australia were playing Ashes series in England in early 70s.

People saying Wasim and Waqar were more talented need to remember that they had Great Khan as mentor while there was nobody in Pakistan to mentor great khan.

 

[IndianWillow]

Imran is an ATG great bowler no doubt about it, I think his contributions as a batsmen are a bit overhyped, especially the 50 average over the last 10 years. How many fifties and centuries did he score, especially under overseas conditions?

Imran had six centuries and 18 fifties overall. For overseas matches, the figures are three and ten respectively. Out of the three centuries made away, the 136 at Adelaide against Australia was a brilliant one, as he came in to bat at 4/22. But 118 at Leeds was on a belter of pitch in which Pakistan accumulated 700 odd against a weakened English bowling lineup in the first innings. The other hundred was against India, again in a high scoring drawn match.

Against the West Indies, the mighty team of his era, Imran did not score one fifty in the 8 matches he played in the WI, with a highest of 47 and average of 21.

Just one emphatic away hundred, coupled with his struggle against the WI bowlers, and his taking advantage of India and NZ (against both he has 50+ average) show that Imran was not as good a batsman as Botham or Kapil even though he has better averages. Botham and Kapil have played unbelievably good innings as batsmen though their overall consistancy is poorer than Imran. Imran was able to score between 20-40 so often that his averages remain rather impressive, but he does not have too many swashbuckling innings to his credit. Kapil and Botham were capable of changing the course of a match with their batting in a matter of two hours - Imran wasn't, he was Misbah like.

 

[Khaseer]

Kapil had immense talent, but was far too inconsistent. Imran Khan as a batsman was solid. Not sure about Botham though, those 14 centuries are impressive, don't know how many were during his amazing peak.

 

[Khaseer]

And also it is probably Marshall, Hadlee and Imran in that order in that era, but lets not shortchange greats as Holding and Garner. Imran himself rates Holding very highly.

 

[Justcrazy]

Imran was once in a lifetime cricketer like .

 

[hadi123]

Justcrazy, you contradicted yourself

 

[pacesensation]

There was a speed test in which he ce 3rd after thomo and holding, I believe he was between 90 to 95 during his peak,

i saw him bowl at 139 in a speed in a speed competition, thomo at 147. They said that by todays standards add like 10 ks to it, which makes him about 92.6 mph.

 

[Bilbo]

Imran is an ATG great bowler no doubt about it, I think his contributions as a batsmen are a bit overhyped, especially the 50 average over the last 10 years. How many fifties and centuries did he score, especially under overseas conditions?

Imran had six centuries and 18 fifties overall. For overseas matches, the figures are three and ten respectively. Out of the three centuries made away, the 136 at Adelaide against Australia was a brilliant one, as he came in to bat at 4/22. But 118 at Leeds was on a belter of pitch in which Pakistan accumulated 700 odd against a weakened English bowling lineup in the first innings. The other hundred was against India, again in a high scoring drawn match.

Against the West Indies, the mighty team of his era, Imran did not score one fifty in the 8 matches he played in the WI, with a highest of 47 and average of 21.

Just one emphatic away hundred, coupled with his struggle against the WI bowlers, and his taking advantage of India and NZ (against both he has 50+ average) show that Imran was not as good a batsman as Botham or Kapil even though he has better averages. Botham and Kapil have played unbelievably good innings as batsmen though their overall consistancy is poorer than Imran. Imran was able to score between 20-40 so often that his averages remain rather impressive, but he does not have too many swashbuckling innings to his credit. Kapil and Botham were capable of changing the course of a match with their batting in a matter of two hours - Imran wasn't, he was Misbah like.

Their is a bowler called Bedi, ask him if Imran was Misbah like, he wil tell you after crying that imran was the sole reason bedi had to retire after towering sixes. Imran had the most straight bat that there can ever be. He played great inings, against Windies he played a draw when the loss was imminent, against their fiery quartet, along with the tail, kapil and botham shined may be in a couple of series, like botham was only known for his 1981 ashes, and played for next ten years because of that, Imran on the other hand was very reliable lower middle order batsman
Imran could change the match with his bowling alone, something Kapil and botham could not do. This post was in fact about his bowling, which is way superior than botham and kapil

 

[Bilbo]

And also it is probably Marshall, Hadlee and Imran in that order in that era, but lets not shortchange greats as Holding and Garner. Imran himself rates Holding very highly.

what is hadlee's record in sub-continent?

 

[jeetu]

what is hadlee's record in sub-continent?

13 tests - avg - 21.58

 

[iafzal]

The thing is, talentless grafters rarely achieve greatness. Most of the great players have been talented individuals.

Imran was talentless, and achieved greatness. That's special

We should not get carried away with talentless Imran.
He had talent and loads of it but you cannot compare it to what Waqar, Waseem or Amir had.

He had to work much harder than those talented to achieve greatness and many cases surpass many of the more talented.

 

[Bilbo]

We should not get carried away with talentless Imran.
He had talent and loads of it but you cannot compare it to what Waqar, Waseem or Amir had.

He had to work much harder than those talented to achieve greatness and many cases surpass many of the more talented.

talent alone is not sufficient, you need discipline and hard work along with it, the others mentioned had these in them less than Imran,

 

[Robert]

Still think both Hadlee and Marshall were better bowlers... wasn't Ian Botham highly rated too ? Whereas Immy was getting better, Ian Botham did the opposite...

I would put IK behind Marshall and ahead of Hadlee as a bowler.

Botham was the best batsman of the four all-rounders. You have to remember that IK had a lot of not-outs to boost his average. I think Botham had three not-out in his entire test career because he ways always looking to score fast. If you look at actual runs scored per innings , Botham was ahead (though it was close).

Botham's bowling deteriorated sharply after 1983 as his injuries built up. He would have turned into a rock-solid #4 batter and tight fourth seamer if he wanted to, but he didn't want it. Lazy in that regard....

 

[IndianWillow]

Their is a bowler called Bedi, ask him if Imran was Misbah like, he wil tell you after crying that imran was the sole reason bedi had to retire after towering sixes. Imran had the most straight bat that there can ever be. He played great inings, against Windies he played a draw when the loss was imminent, against their fiery quartet, along with the tail, kapil and botham shined may be in a couple of series, like botham was only known for his 1981 ashes, and played for next ten years because of that, Imran on the other hand was very reliable lower middle order batsman
Imran could change the match with his bowling alone, something Kapil and botham could not do. This post was in fact about his bowling, which is way superior than botham and kapil

Which test are you talking about? The Karachi test in 1978 where Imran hit a few sixes? What is so unusual about a spinner getting hit for a few sixes in one match? Anyway Bedi was at the fag end of his career then.

To really compare their scoring rates, compare Imran and Kapil in ODIs, their strike rates are not even comparable. Kapil had many memorable knocks, not just one or two series - he was not very consistant though for all his batting talent. Imagine Imran playing an innings of this kind against fiery Donald and co, on a green top, coming into bat at 5/27-
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63588.html

 

[Robert]

kapil and botham shined may be in a couple of series, like botham was only known for his 1981 ashes, and played for next ten years because of that, Imran on the other hand was very reliable lower middle order batsman
Imran could change the match with his bowling alone, something Kapil and botham could not do. This post was in fact about his bowling, which is way superior than botham and kapil

While Imran was unquestionably the best bowler of the three, Botham and Kapil each won a lot of matches with the ball.

As for Botham "only known for his 1981 Ashes", there were another 12 test hundreds, 330 test wickets and 100 test catches outside that series.

 

[Patriot]

Both Imran and Hadlee source Lillee as someone they always aspired to.

I'm sorry Junaids but Imran never fixed a match and won the court case relating to ball tampering.

 

[AFM]

A true legend of the game. Arguably the greatest Test cricketer to have played the game, alongside Bradman and Sobers.

 

[Robert]

Both Imran and Hadlee source Lillee as someone they always aspired to.

Sure, Imran was worried that he was becoming predictable, because he could only move the ball one way (albeit prodigiously), but then Lillee taught him how to bowl the fast leg-cutter, and then Imran was unstoppable.

 

[zulfiqar]

Imran the best all-rounder of his generation. I agree that Botham was slightly ahead as a batsman, but as an overall package Imran beats all of Hadlee, Botham & Kapil by a good margin. As a bowler alone he was better than all of them, with Hadlee being his best competitor! There are numerous threads on this.. lots of stats comparisons.. best matches, best peaks, best series, etc. It's very hard to argue against Imran's mad stats! Only Sobers & Kallis can fight his stats due to their world-class batting!

 

[Bilbo]

Imran Khan's bowling stats, this I didn't know

Sure, Imran was worried that he was becoming predictable, because he could only move the ball one way (albeit prodigiously), but then Lillee taught him how to bowl the fast leg-cutter, and then Imran was unstoppable.

That exactly is my point, as I mentioned in my last post, this man always kept
learning, something our new cricketers lack, they never learn from their mistakes. In his autobiography, Imran has given much credit for his grooming as a bowler to John Snow

 

[Bilbo]

Imran Khan's bowling stats, this I didn't know

Imran had the most deadly in dipper / in cutter the world has ever seen. The ball would come a foot inside after pitching.

It was in-dipper, not seaming in-cutter, it was a sister ball to a reverse swing but, had imran's trademark all over it. No other bowler has ever bowled it the way Imran did. The ball would keep coming straight around 5th stump only to dip in at the lasting as if the wickets were
Magnets and the ball had iron

 

[Bilbo]

Imran Khan's bowling stats, this I didn't know

what a man,
shame wasim became a corrupt individual , he was destined to glory also, amir was also destined to go on and achieve great things but greed got the better of him,

Imran hailed from an educated family, father being an engineer, and had self respect, wasim was not a strong character, hence fell at the hands of greed,

 

[Robert]

That exactly is my point, as I mentioned in my last post, this man always kept
learning, something our new cricketers lack, they never learn from their mistakes. In his autobiography, Imran has given much credit for his grooming as a bowler to John Snow

.

Right. A young quick bowler at the time could not fail to learn from Snow and Lillee, if he had a brain at all!

 

[kamranwasti]

Their is a bowler called Bedi, ask him if Imran was Misbah like, he wil tell you after crying that imran was the sole reason bedi had to retire after towering sixes. Imran had the most straight bat that there can ever be. He played great inings, against Windies he played a draw when the loss was imminent, against their fiery quartet, along with the tail, kapil and botham shined may be in a couple of series, like botham was only known for his 1981 ashes, and played for next ten years because of that, Imran on the other hand was very reliable lower middle order batsman
Imran could change the match with his bowling alone, something Kapil and botham could not do. This post was in fact about his bowling, which is way superior than botham and kapil

Bedi did not retire because of Imran. In fact, he toured England after the World Cup next year. Careers end not because of a single failure - they do on the back of a prolonged decline, a lengthy poor run of form or a critical failure late in the career.

Imran did hit him for 19 runs in that chase but Bedi was going steady but was unfortunate to find himself against Pakistani batsmen in the form of their lives on flat wickets where the bowler who made the difference was Imran (14 wickets) because of his pace. Although Sarfraz took more wickets, it was Imran's pace which rattled the Indians as Cricketer (December 1978 issue - White cover with Packer players and the heading 'Zaheer at it again') and Wisden too acknowledge.

Bedi himself was a wonderful bowler but he never ran through sides. He was a steady bowler who took wickets through patience and guile unlike Chandrashekar who could induce manic collapses.

Chandra was in decline too as was Prasanna (India's greatest off-spinner was nearing 40 then). Bedi never had the chance to perform the role apart from a brief spell in Karachi in the last test.

So while Imran hit those runs and while he was the most hostile bowler by a distance in that series, it is unfair to claim that his 19 runs ended his career.

 

[Bilbo]

Bedi did not retire because of Imran. In fact, he toured England after the World Cup next year. Careers end not because of a single failure - they do on the back of a prolonged decline, a lengthy poor run of form or a critical failure late in the career.

Imran did hit him for 19 runs in that chase but Bedi was going steady but was unfortunate to find himself against Pakistani batsmen in the form of their lives on flat wickets where the bowler who made the difference was Imran (14 wickets) because of his pace. Although Sarfraz took more wickets, it was Imran's pace which rattled the Indians as Cricketer (December 1978 issue - White cover with Packer players and the heading 'Zaheer at it again') and Wisden too acknowledge.

Bedi himself was a wonderful bowler but he never ran through sides. He was a steady bowler who took wickets through patience and guile unlike Chandrashekar who could induce manic collapses.

Chandra was in decline too as was Prasanna (India's greatest off-spinner was nearing 40 then). Bedi never had the chance to perform the role apart from a brief spell in Karachi in the last test.

So while Imran hit those runs and while he was the most hostile bowler by a distance in that series, it is unfair to claim that his 19 runs ended his career.

so you basically summed it up for Imran, the bowler that made the difference and this is what the post is about, not about Imran's batting. Although any day I will pick Imran than any other player just for his batting,

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Imran is the best player I've ever seen. Not in terms of talent, but in terms of sheer will. It didn't matter who the opposition he dominated the game. Botham had more flair, but he was less consistent over a period of time, and when the two met head to head Imran usually was the one who came out on top in their personal battle.

 

[Bilbo]

Imran is the best player I've ever seen. Not in terms of talent, but in terms of sheer will. It didn't matter who the opposition he dominated the game. Botham had more flair, but he was less consistent over a period of time, and when the two met head to head Imran usually was the one who came out on top in their personal battle.

yes, sheer will is a talent in itself, if we dont have it we are toast, no matter how good our other talents are

 

[Bilbo]

Imran Khan's bowling stats, this I didn't know

Imran was awesome, perhaps just a bit behind marshall or hadlee in bowling but coupled with the fact he was a quality genuine bat and a great captain makes him one of the greatest cricketers ever

He was a better all round cricketer

 

[saadsahabjee]

Records against various teams.

Team Bowling Avg
Vs Aus 24.9
Vs Eng 24.6
Vs Ind 24.0
Vs Nz 28.1
Vs SL 14.6
Vs WI 21.1

As Captain Bowling avg 20.0