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[PICTURES] Was Imran Khan really the greatest Pakistan captain ever?

gani999

gani999

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OK, granted that he had a huge role to play in the 1992 WC win, and groomed many players who went on to become ATGs. But how about his win record overall?

From this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pakistan_national_cricket_captains

it can be seen that in tests Javed Miandad has an equally impressive win record, (16 wins out of 35 tests captained) as Imran does (14 wins out of 48 captained). Even Wasim Akram (12/25) and Misbah Ul Haq (20/42) seem ahead of Imran.

When one looks at ODIs, the stats are even more revealing. Among the ones who have captained in at least 30 games, Wasim Akram(61.46% win rate), Saleem Malik (64.7%) Waqar Younis(60.61%), Moin Khan (58.82%), Inzamam Ul Haq (60.71%) and even Shoaib Malik (66.66%) seem ahead of Imran (55.92%).
So am I missing something here, or was Imran not really the best captain Pakistan had?

Discuss.
 
Slightly off topic, but Wasim is very underrated here as captain, have said this before too.

People get caught up in his suspicious activities and because of that believe he had ulterior motives behind certain games as captain.

While that may or may not be true, he was a great on field captain who got the best out of the team, may not have held the team together in the locker room, but his tactics were more often than not up to the mark and knew when to be aggressive and when to be passive. Defo top 3 or 4 for me.
 
That's a great and interesting compilation of stats OP. Malik's ODI win record surprises me the most.

I suspect Khan will be defended for certain things: instilling pride, certain work ethics, certain trends, his aggression and the Cup win.
 
No he wasn't but he has been hyped over n over by everyone ( even by players who never played under him) that he is made to look like best captain.
 
Asim2Good said:
No he wasn't but he has been hyped over n over by everyone ( even by players who never played under him) that he is made to look like best captain.
Click to expand...

You mean like Shoaib Akhtar who can't stop talking about what an ATG bowler he would have been under the leadership and grooming of Imran Khan?
 
Judge him by the stats, eh.

Why even asking for input when statistics alone are the things that you are looking for?

p.s. Shoaib Malik played 10 ODI's on a trot against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. 5 ODI series - that too, two in a row.
 
Also whenever Javed Miandad was captain, he didn't have services of his best all rounder ( best bowler Imran khan in most matches, as Javed was captain most of times when Imran was injured ) but Imran Khan had services of best batsman of Pakistan ( javed miandad) while being captain.
 
GoUgandaCranes said:
Judge him by the stats, eh.

Why even asking for input when statistics alone are the things that you are looking for?

p.s. Shoaib Malik played 10 ODI's on a trot against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. 5 ODI series - that too, two in a row.
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Here comes the minnow logic.
Imran couldn't won Asia cup against minnow SL
 
You can't judge by stats, because Imran tended to skip the easy series (eg home series against Eighties minnows Australia) and only play the toughest series.

He was the best Asian skipper by miles. Unlike Misbah, he could lead from the front instead of hiding at the rear outside Asia.
 
Javed miandad would mostly captain in those series which imran skipped. If imran had wanted his captaincy record any better he would not have skipped so many easy series.
 
JibranAnsari said:
Javed miandad would mostly captain in those series which imran skipped. If imran had wanted his captaincy record any better he would not have skipped so many easy series.
Click to expand...

Can you list those "easy series" missed by Imran Khan?
 
It is common knowledge that Javed was a better tactician than Imran but Imran was a much better leader of men.

Imran, much like Ganguly, changed the mentality of the team. Such captains can't be judged by W/L ratios only.
 
We did lose a match to minnows Sri Lanka under Imran's captaincy, so yes he did well to skip matches against easy teams.
 
Imran lost Asia cup final to minnow SL
Imran could not win away series against minnows SL
 
Asim2Good said:
Here comes the minnow logic.
Imran couldn't won Asia cup against minnow SL
Click to expand...

30 Years from now, majority of the people will be talking about how great Shoaib Malik's ten consecutive wins were. And people will remember Imran Khan by his amplifier song.
 
Yes, he was probably our best captain but people need to move on from him. He has been retired for nearly 25 years so people should stop singing his praises on daily basis and move on.
 
Miandad is underrated as a captain.

Imran is more glamorous and that is why he gets more hype, but Javed contributed a lot tactically
 
captaincy isnt just abt winning, its about making the team.... before imran the mantality was not to lose, he changed it to how to win.... he made a team , made work ethics essential to the team... + played amazing series against the toughest team in the history of cricket... and to top it all up, he was leading from the front at all times.... i do believe that misbah has done a lot lot lot more than anyother person ever to lead the green caps but Imran made the whole nation fall maddly in love with the sport so for me he will always be the best captain ever for pakistan...

P.S ... no wasim, no miandad, no inzi, the second best for pakistan , for me, will be misbah... he had the worst team in terms of talent compared to anyone of the above and still won so many games... for God sake he had Haffez and Shahzad and Akmals to play with... and still won us tht many games... Salute u Misbah.
 
don't know why people are really surprised about malik since he used win the matches on his own at times when it was needed and took full responsibility...
 
I'm not sure whether Imran was the greatest of tacticians on field.

I think he was more of a captain who led from the front and spurred his side on with his own great performances on field.
 
His low win% in Test cricket might probably be due to the prevalence of a lot of flat tracks in Pakistan then.
 
gani999 said:
OK, granted that he had a huge role to play in the 1992 WC win, and groomed many players who went on to become ATGs. But how about his win record overall?

From this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pakistan_national_cricket_captains

it can be seen that in tests Javed Miandad has an equally impressive win record, (16 wins out of 35 tests captained) as Imran does (14 wins out of 48 captained). Even Wasim Akram (12/25) and Misbah Ul Haq (20/42) seem ahead of Imran.

When one looks at ODIs, the stats are even more revealing. Among the ones who have captained in at least 30 games, Wasim Akram(61.46% win rate), Saleem Malik (64.7%) Waqar Younis(60.61%), Moin Khan (58.82%), Inzamam Ul Haq (60.71%) and even Shoaib Malik (66.66%) seem ahead of Imran (55.92%).
So am I missing something here, or was Imran not really the best captain Pakistan had?

Discuss.
Click to expand...

Interesting stats, and a good question. Makes one wonder how much of a difference the
captain actually makes? Win rates very only by a percentage point or three either way for
most everyone else. Which is hardly earth shattering
 
It is not about quantity but quality.

Imran Khan was the first Pakistan captain to win a test series in England and India and he achieved both in the same year, 1987

The only cricket captain of his era who remained undefeated against the best team of his time in tests, the might West Indies. Led Pakistan in three series against the Windies, all of them drawn 1-1
 
While I appreciate what Misbah-ul-Haq has achieved since 2009 with a mediocre set of players, I do not consider him the greatest Pakistan cricket captain. There are no standout test teams during this era, South Africa and England being marginally better than others. If he achieves something special in England this Summer and against Australia later this year then he might have a case.
 
street cricketer said:
His low win% in Test cricket might probably be due to the prevalence of a lot of flat tracks in Pakistan then.
Click to expand...

Indeed, but it seems Test cricket has evolved to become more result-orientated now. There are fewer and fewer draws even in Asia.

Whereas back then it would not be uncommon for a 5 Test series between Pakistan and India for example to end up 0-0 or 1-0 with a litany of draws on highway pitches.
 
The_KING said:
Yes, he was probably our best captain but people need to move on from him. He has been retired for nearly 25 years so people should stop singing his praises on daily basis and move on.
Click to expand...

Why do England still talk about 1981 and 2005 Ashes ? Why do India fans still bring up 1983 WC or West Indies fans reminisce about the golden era ?

Its natural for sports fans to be nostalgic about previous eras when they were more successful and relive the tales, especially Pakistan fans given the lean period we've had (mostly in limited overs).

Plus Pakistan cricket doesn't really produce a lot of big personalities who have that aura and charisma now, whereas Imran was possibly the biggest personality of them all.
 
Markhor said:
Indeed, but it seems Test cricket has evolved to become more result-orientated now. There are fewer and fewer draws even in Asia.

Whereas back then it would not be uncommon for a 5 Test series between Pakistan and India for example to end up 0-0 or 1-0 with a litany of draws on highway pitches.
Click to expand...

^ Agreed

The teams Imran and Miandad played against were also much better than any of the current test teams, arguably the best test team in cricket's entire history (West Indies of the 70s and 80s) and the best Indian batting line up in my book with Gavasakar, Vishwanath, Vengsarkar and Mohinder Amarnath. The English and Australian teams (The teams led by Steve Waugh and Ponting from 1999 to 2007 were even better, almost invincible) of that era were also better than the respective teams since 2009.

Hence we can only say that Misbah has done a commendable job during his time as captain. Comparing him to better players before him would be quite unfair imo.

Test cricket has evolved to become more result-oriented since the late 1990s and Australians get a lot of credit for the way test cricket has evolved now. (esp. the teams led by Steve Waugh and Ponting, they played to win rather than draw games). The mandatory 90-overs per day rule has helped too.
 
I personally think Shoaib Malik is/was the best modern day captain we have had.

Understands the nuances of LOI cricket and was aggressive as well.
 
AZulfi said:
It is not about quantity but quality.

Imran Khan was the first Pakistan captain to win a test series in England and India and he achieved both in the same year, 1987

The only cricket captain of his era who remained undefeated against the best team of his time in tests, the mighty West Indies. Led Pakistan in three series against the Windies, all of them drawn 1-1
Click to expand...

...And with home umpires, certainly no mean feat
 
Why he was great captain not only in Pakistan but for many other arround the world. He inspired a lot of players. He had full control over team, He elected players on merit , he had great eye for talent every player he touched turned into gold, He has great personality. There will no Imran Khan again. Why do u think every one played along him or against him rate him very high ?
 
Why Pakistan did well in 90s was because talent left by Imran Khan. If it wasnt for Imran Khan there would be no Wasim , Waqar, Inzi and many more.

Imran Khan had great services of Javed Miadad who is my all time favorite batting legend , a street fighter who would not bow down to any one. He and Imran gave us some good memories.

Imran Khan learned player to talk, how to behave , stand up against sledging . So u cant just compare IK by series wins.
 
^ So true. The brain behind Imran was always Miandad. Having said that Imran was a great captain in his own right.
 
By OP's logic

Younis Khan (not taking anything away from what he has achieved in tests) is a better batsman than Miandad

Chanderpaul is a better batsman than Viv

No sane and knowledgebale person will buy that..

Stats don't lie but they don't reveal everything either..
 
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AZulfi said:
While I appreciate what Misbah-ul-Haq has achieved since 2009 with a mediocre set of players, I do not consider him the greatest Pakistan cricket captain. There are no standout test teams during this era, South Africa and England being marginally better than others. If he achieves something special in England this Summer and against Australia later this year then he might have a case.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
street cricketer said:
His low win% in Test cricket might probably be due to the prevalence of a lot of flat tracks in Pakistan then.
Click to expand...
A lot of tests were drawn in those days - consider Imran's 1-0 wins in five test series in England and India.
 
There is no doubt for me personally that Imran is one of the greatest captains of all time.The greatest Pakistan have had.Miandad was the more calculating captain though.
 
Yes he was the best Pakistani captain.
 
he was a great captain?... no doubt about it. best PAK captain ?.... might be .. way ahead of some other great captains ? .... highly doubt.
The third one is because of the following.I don't rate his captaincy much for his test series victories .This is because Imran possesed an array of brilliant bowlers to support him all thru his career.And his batters were of good quality too. So all in all Imran possesed the 2nd best team of that time behind Windies. But why i rate him was for his man management skills & leading from the front qualities & motivating skills.He was not that a shrewd tactician either .So all in all a great captain but not way ahead of the likes Miandad, Kapil , Dhoni & Gavaskar from Asia.Ganguly & Rantunga too were brilliant , but they lags behind(especially Ranatunga) in leading from the front category.
 
Feroz Rawther said:
he was a great captain?... no doubt about it. best PAK captain ?.... might be .. way ahead of some other great captains ? .... highly doubt.
The third one is because of the following.I don't rate his captaincy much for his test series victories .This is because Imran possesed an array of brilliant bowlers to support him all thru his career.And his batters were of good quality too. So all in all Imran possesed the 2nd best team of that time behind Windies. But why i rate him was for his man management skills & leading from the front qualities & motivating skills.He was not that a shrewd tactician either .So all in all a great captain but not way ahead of the likes Miandad, Kapil , Dhoni & Gavaskar from Asia.Ganguly & Rantunga too were brilliant , but they lags behind(especially Ranatunga) in leading from the front category.
Click to expand...


After Test all-rounder, now it sounds like you are trying to sell Kapil as a "slightly" better captain than Khan. What is your marketing plan for this one?

P.S: one disclaimer, I was too young then, so haven't seen Imran's young Pakistan thrashing one of the most experienced ever sides 5-1 in ODI & 1-0 in Test at their home, led by Kapil, but like many I am aware of the series.

And, I wonder how many Indians here would take Gavaskar a better Captain than Khan.
 
MMHS said:
After Test all-rounder, now it sounds like you are trying to sell Kapil as a "slightly" better captain than Khan. What is your marketing plan for this one?

P.S: one disclaimer, I was too young then, so haven't seen Imran's young Pakistan thrashing one of the most experienced ever sides 5-1 in ODI & 1-0 in Test at their home, led by Kapil, but like many I am aware of the series.

And, I wonder how many Indians here would take Gavaskar a better Captain than Khan.
Click to expand...

'Kapil slightly better captain than Khan" may be your marketing plan..not mine.

Coming to topic ... just calling spade a spade ... that's all.. Clive lloyd has one of the greatest win loss records of all time. That doesn't make him great captain. i have watched that series were PAK beat IND in 87. PAK with great bowlers like Akram ,Qadir & 'Kapil category one day bowler Imran' & one of the ATG one day bats in Miandad beat IND with Kapil & dibbly dobbly bowlers . What is so surprising in it? Bowlers win you matches.
To be more precise batting wise both teams were more or less equal but bowling wise PAK was so much superior.

Now ... not a marketing plan ... just my opinion... Imran was a better captain to Kapil ... but not by much.
 
The "greatest " captain just achieved which no one in history of Pak cricket did before him, 6 tests loss in a row .
 
Sam18696 said:
I don't know about Imran but Misbah hasn't really won us a series outside UAE for a long time.
Click to expand...

apart from drawing against England I believe his greatest success outside UAE was drawing against Zimbabwe's c team?
 
8-0 in NZ/Aus/SA

Lost a match against Zimbabwe

Couldn't win a series in WI(2011) despite being the weakest team of WI.
 
MRSN said:
apart from drawing against England I believe his greatest success outside UAE was drawing against Zimbabwe's c team?
Click to expand...

I think away from home/uae his greatest success was beating SL in SL but thn there is an argument that SL lost a Test series at home against India and SA too around same time.
 
shah_1 said:
8-0 in NZ/Aus/SA

Lost a match against Zimbabwe

Couldn't win a series in WI(2011) despite being the weakest team of WI.
Click to expand...

Also successfully managed to lose a match against eight ranked Windies in fortress UAE.


#best test captain
 
WebGuru said:
I think away from home/uae his greatest success was beating SL in SL but thn there is an argument that SL lost a Test series at home against India and SA too around same time.
Click to expand...

Misbah had no real tactics

Just gives overs to Ajmal or Yasir Shah, hope they do some magic and take wickets for him. He used Yasir like a slave for 6 months, so many overs in a day Yasir bowled.

The only good thing about him is that he united the team, there was no groupism in the test team.
 
Imran certainly was a far greater player and captain in both formats, however, Misbah will go down as a Pakistan great in his own right.
 
MMHS said:
After Test all-rounder, now it sounds like you are trying to sell Kapil as a "slightly" better captain than Khan. What is your marketing plan for this one?

P.S: one disclaimer, I was too young then, so haven't seen Imran's young Pakistan thrashing one of the most experienced ever sides 5-1 in ODI & 1-0 in Test at their home, led by Kapil, but like many I am aware of the series.

And, I wonder how many Indians here would take Gavaskar a better Captain than Khan.
Click to expand...

Kohli is a better test captain than Imran or anyone Pak ever produced. He already has 14 wins(same as Imran in less than half the matches). And has only lost 2 games compared to Imran's 7.
 
Javed was the best tactician but Imran is by far the best captain we have ever had
 
Imran has terrific instincts, Some of his decisions looked bad on paper but it worked out.
For example - He dropped Abdul Qadir for newbie spinner because latter was better bat on a square turner. It worked out for Pakistan as Gavaskar got out in 90's and Pakistan won first test series in India.
 
Imran had a low win %. He won less than his competitors, but lost very less which was reflected by the fact that Pakistan was the only team that didn't lose to the great Windies team.

Other Pak captains might have a better win %, but most of then wilted against the best unlike Imran where he stands out. And of course, the historic series win in India against the arch rivals. It is the self confidence he imbibed in the team which makes him the best Pak captain.
 
street cricketer said:
Imran had a low win %. He won less than his competitors, but lost very less which was reflected by the fact that Pakistan was the only team that didn't lose to the great Windies team.

Other Pak captains might have a better win %, but most of then wilted against the best unlike Imran where he stands out. And of course, the historic series win in India against the arch rivals. It is the self confidence he imbibed in the team which makes him the best Pak captain.
Click to expand...

and a first series win in England
 
Best Pakistani skipper but not among the best ever as suggested by his stats. He was tactically not that good and allowed opposition to draw/win more games than he should have given the team he had.
 
Legends of the game call him A Legend. One Of the all-time greats in sports history and still going strong in Pakistan's system.
 
In a 1977 interview young Imran Khan reflected on Pakistan's challenging tours of Australia and the West Indies during the 1976/77 season and these tours marked a significant chapter in his budding cricket career.

Imran Khan known for his dynamic pace and aggressive bowling style was already making waves in the international arena his performance during the series in Sydney where he claimed 12 wickets stood out as a pivotal moment underscoring his emergence as one of Pakistan’s leading fast bowlers.

At 25, Imran Khan looking a bit underconfident trying to avoid making eye contact with great Fazal Mahmood but who knew that this young man will one day win the first mega title for his country.

 
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Not many will remember or even look at win %age stats. What will remain in people's memory is the crowning moment when Pakistan cricket stood on top of the world.

And looking at the state of the team nowadays, his legacy only grows. That's why he will always be the best captain.
 
Cricket Warrior said:
In a 1977 interview young Imran Khan reflected on Pakistan's challenging tours of Australia and the West Indies during the 1976/77 season and these tours marked a significant chapter in his budding cricket career.

Imran Khan known for his dynamic pace and aggressive bowling style was already making waves in the international arena his performance during the series in Sydney where he claimed 12 wickets stood out as a pivotal moment underscoring his emergence as one of Pakistan’s leading fast bowlers.

At 25, Imran Khan looking a bit underconfident trying to avoid making eye contact with great Fazal Mahmood but who knew that this young man will one day win the first mega title for his country.

Click to expand...
Amazing archive footage !

Rare clip of the great Fazal Mahmood. He was a dashing figure in his youth. Even the Queen was taken aback by those piercing blue eyes (which doesn't come across in the black and white) when meeting him during Pakistan's tour of 1954.

Peter Oborne in Wounded Tiger describes how meticulous Fazal was in keeping himself fit. God knows what he'd make of the likes of Azam Khan. He bowled some ridiculously long spells (see the famous Hanif 337 Test).

I didn't know he was so fluent in English. Our cricketers don't carry themselves like that anymore.
 
Markhor said:
Amazing archive footage !

Rare clip of the great Fazal Mahmood. He was a dashing figure in his youth. Even the Queen was taken aback by those piercing blue eyes (which doesn't come across in the black and white) when meeting him during Pakistan's tour of 1954.

Peter Oborne in Wounded Tiger describes how meticulous Fazal was in keeping himself fit. God knows what he'd make of the likes of Azam Khan. He bowled some ridiculously long spells (see the famous Hanif 337 Test).

I didn't know he was so fluent in English. Our cricketers don't carry themselves like that anymore.
Click to expand...

I think you mean Jasprit Bumrah and how taken aback the Queen was by his cuteness, so taken aback, rumour has it she went into a deep slumber and never awoke again.
 
Most Player of the Series Awards as captain in Tests

6 - Imran Khan
4 - Graham Gooch
4 - Graeme Smith
4 - Steve Smith
3 - Michael Clarke
3 - Andrew Strauss
3 - Virat Kohli
 
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