Name those successful cricketers who you saw first time and thought "This guy won't make it"

[Cozyrensetter]

Name those successful cricketers who you saw first time and thought "This guy won't make it"

For me it has to be Steve smith.Horrible technique.Saw him first time againist Pakistan in 2011 Wc and was unimpressed.Remarkable turnaround from him later

 

[Pete Rose]

I can safely say i have never uttered or thought the words "This guy is not make it" about cricketers or anyone else for that matter.

 

[troodon]

Sehwag

 

[Adijazz1706]

Definitely Smith and Sehwag

 

[Pete Rose]

Chanders, kumble

 

[UN talkz]

GOAT Rahat Ali

 

[Madplayer]

Jaydev unadkat. And i am right. As always.

 

[AFM]

Steven Smith. First saw him in the WT20 in 2010 and the subsequent T20's and Tests against us. I thought he was just a bowler at first, trying to be the new Warne. He wasn't that impressive and thought he would be doomed to fail because of the Warne comparison.

Never did I think he would be become the best Test batsman in the world. Both him and Azhar Ali debuted in the same match, and I remember one of the commentators saying this might be the birth of a new rivalry when he came on to bowl against Azhar.

 

[Ab Fan]

Hashim Amla

 

[AFM]

And Misbah the captain. To recall a dropped 36 year old batsman to be captain during a low and dark time for Pak cricket was a disaster waiting to happen.

But it didn't. Against the odds he managed to draw a series against SA and win in NZ (ending a drought of Pak not wining any Test series).

And we all know what happened next :rondu

 

[Runner Up]

Yes it is Steve smith. When I saw the title I opened it to mention his name but OP already did.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Why would you say something like that about professional cricketers?

 

[Sidilicious]

MS Dhoni. Saw him against Ban in some odi series and he seemed average.

 

[Suleiman]

I never think that. Am usually a bit too generous when it comes to giving new players on the scene a long rope to prove themselves.

 

[hadi123]

Fakhar Zaman.

 

[MoJoJoJo]

Jaydev unadkat. And i am right. As always.

the second coming of waqar younis..

 

[MoJoJoJo]

azhar ali.. the guy was busy making the world record of most number of ducks in his early test career..

 

[Hasan123]

Chris Woakes.

 

[msb314]

I will get some criticism for this but for me it is Hafeez.

Watching his career meander around with an average of 19 at a SR of 70 for the best part of last decade I thought he was done for and should have been lumped alongside Farhat.

He is by no means great but it is safe to say he has had a pretty decent career since his pre-2010 days.

 

[MoJoJoJo]

rohit sharma.. saw him in t20 wc 2007 where he was batting at no 6 or 7.. was n't really impressed and never thought he would become so much important part of indian batting lineup.. he improved drastically since then..

 

[MoJoJoJo]

I will get some criticism for this but for me it is Hafeez.

Watching his career meander around with an average of 19 at a SR of 70 for the best part of last decade I thought he was done for and should have been lumped alongside Farhat.

He is by no means great but it is safe to say he has had a pretty decent career since his pre-2010 days.

right.. i actually remember the interview of him before 2011 wc in which he was saying that he will comeback strong and will become an important part of pak team.. did n't took it seriously because he was no decent batsman or bowler.. but he improved alot and performed really well since 2011 wc till 2014.. he was the leading run scorer in odis in 2013.. the guy has total 11 odi centuries with 5 of them coming in a single year.. drastic improvement but alas went downhill post 2014..

 

[rhony]

Shoaib Malik. Never thought he'd make it. Always wondered how he was in the team and I still wonder how he is in the team. His just above average fielding in the yesteryear below average fielding teams. The illusion of being an all rounder even though he doesn't bowl much. The spin and minnow bashing despite his limited range of strokes and his inability against pace. All of these are reasons. But the biggest reason is, he is very smart and knows how to hold on to his spot and does just enough. He is blessed!!!

 

[The_Odd_One]

Damien Martyn in 1999 WC

 

[ads101]

Out of Pakistan, fakhar surprised me a bit. But it enforced yet again, the guys who dominate in domestic regardless of technique tend to outperform the guys with lesser domestic records with good technique.

I thought Umar akmal, Amir and Jamshed were all certain to turn out good players, difficult to see how they wouldn't. Amir's still done decently but a far cry from what he was predicted to be.

 

[Hawkeye]

Fawad Alam, the PP legend! Extremely successful on the internet.

 

[Syed1]

Jaydev unadkat. And i am right. As always.

Something tells me you are not married



On topic, When Umar Gul first came on the scene I thought he was the definition of mediocrity and would be dumped within a year, but then he went onto build a good career for himself specially in the T20 format.

 

[Poutine]

TBH I never saw a player and think that he will fail for sure. Anyone that makes it to the international level, has the potential to be successful.

 

[OneTip-OneHand]

Jasprit Bumrah.

Not that he has become some legend but the guy has been very successful in his career so far.

When i saw him bowl in IPL for Mumbai Indians, i had my doubts that this guy couldn’t last a year with his awkward action and boyish built. Man he has proved me so wrong. Became no.1 ODI bowler. Did good in SA tests.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

International: Smithy

Domestic: Asif Ali

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

Umar Akmal...oh...wait

 

[Abid Z]

azhar ali.. the guy was busy making the world record of most number of ducks in his early test career..

Not true. He made his debut in 2010 England and had a string of consecutive 50+ scores and was considered by all to be a genuine test prospect.

 

[badsha001]

Farhan Behredeen

 

[giri26]

Smith for sure is one of them. When he made his debut, he was called as a spinner who can bat, never imagined he will become the best test player in the world.

 

[notAgainPlease]

Umar Akmal in under 19 world cup, he was just swinging bat blindly .. i knew he was a slogger

 

[silent ischemia]

Muhammad Asif after his first international outing looked quite ordinary

 

[giri26]

Marvan Atappattu, had scores of 0's and 1's in his first 6 innings, but ended up a SL's crucial player in tests and ODI during the 90's.

 

[Slim]

Steve smith.

 

[Abid Z]

Muhammad Asif after his first international outing looked quite ordinary

This is true. Got smashed by Australia in Australia and looked to be the end of him

 

[Abid Z]

Fawad Alam in New Zealand 2009. Especially how waqar and co dissected his technique on air.

 

[squarecut]

Marvan Atappattu, had scores of 0's and 1's in his first 6 innings, but ended up a SL's crucial player in tests and ODI during the 90's.

Yes, Marvan Atapattu.

Also Mohinder Amarnath, whose made his debut in 1969, but kept failing repeatedly and made a name for himself in test matches only from late 1970s onwards.

And I was sure that Saurav Ganguly would fail in international cricket.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Angelo Mathews.

 

[BreadPakoda]

Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaidev Unadkat, Ashok Dinda, Shardul Thakur, Vinay Kumar....

 

[Blackbradman]

Hashim Amla
Sehwag
Steve Smith

 

[Rightarmfast]

SACHIN TENDULKAR! ( Are you guys surprised?)

The first innings that he played against Pakistan, I thought this guy would be decimated in no time and his career would be over.

I don't need to write a word more on what followed later.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Ravindra jadeja.
I used to think of him as one of the most useless player.
And now he is amongst the best bowlers in test cricket. Indias best spinner in tests.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Nathan lyon also seemed like a complete dud. He also makes this list.
Murali vijay, tim southee etc etc.

 

[Kaptan]

Rana Naved, Smith, Dhoni, Vijay Shankar

 

[Last Monetarist]

I am a woeful judge of a player, it seems:

Australia: Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon
England: Jonny Bairstow
India: VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Chet Pujara
New Zealand: Tim Southee, Trent Boult
Pakistan: Misbah ul Haq
South Africa: Herschelle Gibbs, Makhaya Ntini, Hashim Amla
Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews
West Indies: Chris Gayle

 

[Fast Bowler]

Mo Asif - looked completely useless against the Aussies.

 

[TQ89]

Misbah ul haq & then azahar ali

 

[MoJoJoJo]

Not true. He made his debut in 2010 England and had a string of consecutive 50+ scores and was considered by all to be a genuine test prospect.

Against England in 2010 test series:

He had 2 ducks in 4 matches against england with average of 22 and grand total of 1 fifty.. wd strike rate of 35.51..

 

[Hamza_]

Steve Smith, Imran Khan Jr, Irfan Jr, Khurram Manzoor, Iftikhar Ahmed

 

[Abid Z]

Against England in 2010 test series:

He had 2 ducks in 4 matches against england with average of 22 and grand total of 1 fifty.. wd strike rate of 35.51..

I think if memory serves..he had his debut in England against Australia and then 4 tests against England and there was a few 50’s on that tour and a 90 odd there somewhere. Not amazing but hardly a flop. When everybody else were collapsing like a pack of cards he stood resolute, if a tad slow.

 

[FreePalestine]

alastair cook