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Shaheen Shah Afridi versus Shoaib Akhtar in his prime: who would you prefer in Test cricket?

mominsaigol said:
English players get swept under the rug probs cause England is a multi sport country.
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Ask them to produce a batsman who averages 50+ or a bowler who averages 25- and then they might not get swept under the rug.

While the rest of the world has produced Tendulkar, Ponting, Lara, Kallis, Sangakkara and McGrath, Warne, Murali, Steyn, Wasim, these guys have produced one format players who get knighthoods on the back of a home series win in Australia.
 
TBH wahab riaz was better test bowler in asian conditions than fraud Shaheen


Shoaib even in those 178 test wickets had so many memorable contributions to test victories that Shaheen cant even dream of
 
Savak said:
Rumours on social media that Shaheen is considering retiring from Test Cricket in order to focus on whiteball cricket.
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This decision for him to just retire from a format he has been bad at recently. Is this the solution??

How is this running away from game is going to help him.
 
Savak said:
Shaheen's career is already finished. He clearly is an age fudger. He is bowling like a 30 plus year old already.
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Shaheen is definitely atleast four to five years older than his stated age. But even that puts him around 29. That is still a peak age for bowlers in modern era. He will still be younger than Cummins, Bumrah, Rabada and all and should be at the peak of his career. I feel he just does not have the skills necessary to excel in all conditions. If you look at his career breakdown against teams he has struggled against all good teams all his career, with only few exceptions mostly in limited overs cricket.
 
mominsaigol said:
Agree except for sohaib > Waqar.

You guys need to stop with these ball tampering narratives which don't have any proof.

Not everything is a Smith and Warner situation.
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Waqar > Shoaib for me but there is enough proof of tampering, including Umpires catching Waqar and Imran actually admitting to that.

Still Waqar is an ATG for me and better than any Indian bowler ever.
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
Waqar > Shoaib for me but there is enough proof of tampering, including Umpires catching Waqar and Imran actually admitting to that.

Still Waqar is an ATG for me and better than any Indian bowler ever.
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You serious? Even > your precious bumrah?
 
Thread is about Shaheen and shoaib and not Bumrah. Stay on topic please
 
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Local.Dada said:
Never said he was better than Shoaib but how did the team perform overall and how did his team mates do? Also don’t rate Shaheen as a test bowler but given the other options, decent but a gun loi bowler currently going through form and injury issues.
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That's an excuse. Averaging close to 38 is bad. Shaheen can't win matches on his own unless he isn't an exceptional bowler. But he can at least perform well individually if he is good but he has failed to do it even that.
 
msb314 said:
Watch Shoaib Akhtar against England in Multan in 2005 and then watch SSA against England in Multan in 2024.

No comparison at all.. like there is nothing… absolutely nothing.

All of our bowlers combined are not fit to tie Shoaib Akhtars shoe laces

@Rana @mominsaigol @Major @Mamoon @Hawkeye
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Yes I remember the England 05 series really well and I felt embarrassed when a self proclaimed speed demon and badmaash of fast bowling was resorting to slower ones because he was afraid of KP sending his 150 kph thunderbolts out of the stadium at 300 kph.

This was the beginning of the end for Akhtar.

When Haris Rauf started doing his slow balls drama in 2022, I voiced similar reservations and people laughed at me. However, I was correct in my assessment that it was the beginning of the end for him.

A fast bowler’s career is over once he starts losing faith in his pace.
 
atreus said:
Not going to lie, if he does that he's a coward, be like a James Anderson or a Stuart Broad, not a Hardik Pandya.
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100% agree.

And I wonder where he got that idea from - not his Father in Law surely?
 
Mamoon said:
Yes I remember the England 05 series really well and I felt embarrassed when a self proclaimed speed demon and badmaash of fast bowling was resorting to slower ones because he was afraid of KP sending his 150 kph thunderbolts out of the stadium at 300 kph.

This was the beginning of the end for Akhtar.

When Haris Rauf started doing his slow balls drama in 2022, I voiced similar reservations and people laughed at me. However, I was correct in my assessment that it was the beginning of the end for him.

A fast bowler’s career is over once he starts losing faith in his pace.
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Meanwhile, Shoaib getting Pieterson in that series

 
TheSultan said:
Meanwhile, Shoaib getting Pieterson in that series

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A nothing delivery. One of the rare instances of KP miscuing a short ball in his prime.

What percentage of his wickets in that series were off slow balls? It was embarrassing to watch.

Top three most embarrassing moments of Akhtar’s career in my opinion. Right up there with the cowardly retreat vs India in 03 and the full tosses & beamers masterclass vs Ross Taylor.

From destroying NZ with his pace in 2001-2002 to being afraid of bowling fast vs England in 2005. What a downfall.
 
Mamoon said:
A nothing delivery. One of the rare instances of KP miscuing a short ball in his prime.

What percentage of his wickets in that series were off slow balls? It was embarrassing to watch.

Top three most embarrassing moments of Akhtar’s career in my opinion. Right up there with the cowardly retreat vs India in 03 and the full tosses & beamers masterclass vs Ross Taylor.

From destroying NZ with his pace in 2001-2002 to being afraid of bowling fast vs England in 2005. What a downfall.
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If you watched the matches (not sure whether you did, you were probably writing some essay at the time), you know the majority of his deliveries were pace-on and he very rarely used the slower ball, but it was a great slower ball and mainly in the Lahore match got him a few wickets.

What’s wrong with that? Nothing. In fact it showed another skill in his armoury.

In that series, he got England out with searing Yorkers, fast bumpers (as you just saw), pacey in dipping length deliveries and probably the greatest dipping slower balls of all time. It was probably the most skilful bowling he’s exhibited on some of the flattest decks imaginable!

I don’t mind if you disagree. But I’m just waiting for the day the wind changes and you’ll be posting a long worded post saying the same thing I’m saying here. It might be a contrary opinion by then!
 
TheSultan said:
If you watched the matches (not sure whether you did, you were probably writing some essay at the time
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I 100% figured out he lied about watching Pollock bowl, and I think he is giving more evidence that he may have only started watching cricket when IPL started.
 
Rana said:
I 100% figured out he lied about watching Pollock bowl, and I think he is giving more evidence that he may have only started watching cricket when IPL started.
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Watched everything from late 90’s onwards.

But you revealed your age when you claimed that Cullinan was a world class ODI batsman and McGrath bowled to Amla.

It is not a problem to be young, but it is a problem when you act old when you have barely gone beyond your teen years.
 
Mamoon said:
Yes I remember the England 05 series really well and I felt embarrassed when a self proclaimed speed demon and badmaash of fast bowling was resorting to slower ones because he was afraid of KP sending his 150 kph thunderbolts out of the stadium at 300 kph.

This was the beginning of the end for Akhtar.

When Haris Rauf started doing his slow balls drama in 2022, I voiced similar reservations and people laughed at me. However, I was correct in my assessment that it was the beginning of the end for him.

A fast bowler’s career is over once he starts losing faith in his pace.
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I’m afraid you’re way, way off the mark with this analysis. As someone who appears to have a level of cricket understanding, this is a shockingly bad take. The slower ball is a lethal weapon in any fast bowlers armoury, if they can pull it off. Akhtar’s is the best you’ll ever see as it was dead straight completely fooling the batsman because they were expecting the 150+ delivery at the time. It worked because he hadn’t lost his pace, the drop of 90+ mph down to 70ish is what throws the batsman off. Comparing Rauf’s slower balls to Akhtar’s is absurd firstly because Rauf is a spray gun bowler with zero accuracy. Him trying to use the slower ball was desperation rather than deception.

There are masterclass videos from Brett Lee on how to bowl a slower one, your logic is if you can bowl fast then variation means you’re finished? Do better.
 
Mamoon said:
Yes I remember the England 05 series really well and I felt embarrassed when a self proclaimed speed demon and badmaash of fast bowling was resorting to slower ones because he was afraid of KP sending his 150 kph thunderbolts out of the stadium at 300 kph.

This was the beginning of the end for Akhtar.

When Haris Rauf started doing his slow balls drama in 2022, I voiced similar reservations and people laughed at me. However, I was correct in my assessment that it was the beginning of the end for him.

A fast bowler’s career is over once he starts losing faith in his pace.
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Umm… don’t really care.

A bowlers job is to take wickets doesn’t matter if the ball is coming at 150 clicks or 90 clicks. Batsmen couldn’t adjust otherwise.

That’s like saying only balls that being embarrassed if the ball is moving in to take a wicket and thou is only allowed to take wickets if the ball is moving away… lol

Regardless SSA does not have any variation in his bowling in the first place so it is a moot point. He needs a magic 2 or 3 deliveries up front… Otherwise will get spanked all over the park like there is no tomorrow. Rubbish bowler with no future
 
msb314 said:
Watch Shoaib Akhtar against England in Multan in 2005 and then watch SSA against England in Multan in 2024.

No comparison at all.. like there is nothing… absolutely nothing.

All of our bowlers combined are not fit to tie Shoaib Akhtars shoe laces

@Rana @mominsaigol @Major @Mamoon @Hawkeye
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Good to see you after a long time bro. #TeamPoI

Agree there’s simply no comparison. Although Sohaib Akhtar enjoyed two other top class bowlers taking most of the load off his shoulders, he was still a match winner on his own.
 
Hawkeye said:
Good to see you after a long time bro. #TeamPoI

Agree there’s simply no comparison. Although Sohaib Akhtar enjoyed two other top class bowlers taking most of the load off his shoulders, he was still a match winner on his own.
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Like wise bro
 
Shoaib Akhtar was a monster who even took wickets on the dead wickets with his extreme pace shaheen is no where near to him.
 
Shoaib Akhtar is a top 60-70 level cricketer in the history of the game.

Shaheen Afridi won’t make it to top 100 test cricketers of all-time.
 
Shaheen's decline ahs been so bad that I don't think he is going to recover from it anytime soon.

I would pick Shaheen though in his prime.
 
BouncerGuy said:
Shaheen's decline ahs been so bad that I don't think he is going to recover from it anytime soon.

I would pick Shaheen though in his prime.
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Prime shaheen vs Prime Akhtar isn't even close. A Prime shaheen got butchered by mattew wade.

Prime Shaheen was a gun new ball bowler. But if you could survive his initial 2 over spell in t20 or 5 over spell in odi, then he's easy picking in middle and death overs.

Sohaib Akhtar in his prime was a nightmare.
 
mominsaigol said:
Is Ashwin a top 1 cricketer?
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I can understand Australian bitterness towards Ashwin as he contributed in three consecutive series wins vs Australia (2 away, 1 home) but didn’t know it is so much that you decide to bring Ashwin in a thread where he has no business.

Coming back to your question, he would probably be in the top 40-50 cricketers list( including his bowl+ bat prowess both) but when it comes to match winning factors like player of series, you have got it spot on. He has 11 player of series and deservingly #1. That’s what facts say, I am not saying.
 
W
mominsaigol said:
Prime shaheen vs Prime Akhtar isn't even close. A Prime shaheen got butchered by mattew wade.

Prime Shaheen was a gun new ball bowler. But if you could survive his initial 2 over spell in t20 or 5 over spell in odi, then he's easy picking in middle and death overs.

Sohaib Akhtar in his prime was a nightmare.
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Well said but Shoaib in his prime has also been butchered by Sehwag type players so you can have a bad day.
 
BouncerGuy said:
W


Well said but Shoaib in his prime has also been butchered by Sehwag type players so you can have a bad day.
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Big difference in being butchered by Sehwag and being butchered by wade.

Sehwag even in 2003 wc final was the only player who wasn't a walking wicket and that includes Sachin.

Sehwag was striking at a 100 sr which for that era is extremely impressive as well as the fact that he had to deal with mcgrath as well.

Wade on the other hand is an average batter and decent keeper.

Shaheen's biggest achievement is that he managed to make rohit his bunny however rohit has always struggled against pace and is mostly a hone track bully.

Even kohli (T20) never struggled against shaheen despite the fact that 2019-2022 Kohli was in his decline phase in every format besides odi.
 
Ab Fan said:
I can understand Australian bitterness towards Ashwin as he contributed in three consecutive series wins vs Australia (2 away, 1 home) but didn’t know it is so much that you decide to bring Ashwin in a thread where he has no business.

Coming back to your question, he would probably be in the top 40-50 cricketers list( including his bowl+ bat prowess both) but when it comes to match winning factors like player of series, you have got it spot on. He has 11 player of series and deservingly #1. That’s what facts say, I am not saying.
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No no I agree. Ashwin is the greatest bowler of all time. Warne, Murli and even Mcgrath should start shining the shoes of the goat oversea spinner who never got a 5 wicket haul and keeps getting dropped by bcci.
 
mominsaigol said:
No no I agree. Ashwin is the greatest bowler of all time. Warne, Murli and even Mcgrath should start shining the shoes of the goat oversea spinner who never got a 5 wicket haul and keeps getting dropped by bcci.
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Very well said, kudos 👍
 
LOL, with Akhtar's track record, as a captain I'd rather play with 10 players than have him in the team. I'd rather play with 10 players than have an 11th player who disgraces my team and country all his career. No wonder the late Tony Greig called him an embarrassment to the game back in 2006 when he was caught injecting himself with nandrolone.​
 
Additionally, bringing Ashwin in the Shoaib vs Shaheen thread tells us about his desperation to troll for no better reason.
 
Hitman said:
LOL, with Akhtar's track record, as a captain I'd rather play with 10 players than have him in the team. I'd rather play with 10 players than have an 11th player who disgraces my team and country all his career. No wonder the late Tony Greig called him an embarrassment to the game back in 2006 when he was caught injecting himself with nandrolone.​
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You would never have that problem. India has never produced an Akhtar. No one near as quick or enthralling as him so sit down.

Akhtar had single handedly won Pakistan their first 3,4 test matches against Southafrica. This is an embarrassing comparison.
 
Ab Fan said:
Additionally, bringing Ashwin in the Shoaib vs Shaheen thread tells us about his desperation to troll for no better reason.
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Sohaib isn't a great cricketer. He's just a millions times superior to a fraud like Ashwin who himself is a million times superior to a fraud like shaheen.

Amoung the biggest lies that have ever been told on PP, Ashwin being a borderline ATG and Shaheen being the 3rd greatest pakistani pacer ever are right up their
 
ethan hunt said:
You would never have that problem. India has never produced an Akhtar. No one near as quick or enthralling as him so sit down.

Akhtar had single handedly won Pakistan their first 3,4 test matches against Southafrica. This is an embarrassing comparison.
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That's true. We also have never produced a fast bowler who got banned for injecting himself with nandrolone. Nor have we produced any player who has disgraced his team as much as Akhtar did.
 
mominsaigol said:
Sohaib isn't a great cricketer. He's just a millions times superior to a fraud like Ashwin who himself is a million times superior to a fraud like shaheen.

Amoung the biggest lies that have ever been told on PP, Ashwin being a borderline ATG and Shaheen being the 3rd greatest pakistani pacer ever are right up their
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Ashwin is miles ahead of both Shoaib and Shaheen. It is an insult to Ashwin to compare them to Ashwin. Ashwin as a cricketer is also better than Waqar Younis.

Ashwin- top 40 cricketer material
Waqar - top 50 cricketer material
Shoaib - top 70 cricketer material
Shaheen - not even in top 100 cricketer material
 
Hitman said:
That's true. We also have never produced a fast bowler who got banned for injecting himself with nandrolone. Nor have we produced any player who has disgraced his team as much as Akhtar did.
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Akhtar was the fastest bowler that has ever played the game. Rated highly by peers like Lara, Warne, Steve Waugh, Fleming, Donald. He won matches for pakistan and made cricket exciting to watch. Dont let the land of Debashish Mohanty tell you otherwise.
Only an Akhtar can create magical moments like Kolkatta.
 
Ab Fan said:
Ashwin is miles ahead of both Shoaib and Shaheen. It is an insult to Ashwin to compare them to Ashwin. Ashwin as a cricketer is also better than Waqar Younis.

Ashwin- top 40 cricketer material
Waqar - top 50 cricketer material
Shoaib - top 70 cricketer material
Shaheen - not even in top 100 cricketer material
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Yes ashwin is also better then Mcgrath
 
Saqlain if he played his cricket on Indian dustbowls would have got to 500 wickets in a jiffy.
He made the fabled indian batting line up dance in the 90s.
 
ethan hunt said:
Akhtar was the fastest bowler that has ever played the game. Rated highly by peers like Lara, Warne, Steve Waugh, Fleming, Donald. He won matches for pakistan and made cricket exciting to watch. Dont let the land of Debashish Mohanty tell you otherwise.
Only an Akhtar can create magical moments like Kolkatta.
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When did I deny that he is the fastest recorded bowler in history? I was speaking of the glory he brought to his team and the game overall with his conduct. All the players you mentioned merely acknowledged his speed. They never spoke about him as the best bowler.​
 
Hitman said:
When did I deny that he is the fastest recorded bowler in history? I was speaking of the glory he brought to his team and the game overall with his conduct. All the players you mentioned merely acknowledged his speed. They never spoke about him as the best bowler.​
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Even MS Dhoni rated him as the toughest he had faced. Read what Kallis the ones above had to say about him.
 
YOU GUYS NEED TO CALM DOWN AND TALK ABOUT THE TOPIC.

IS IS SHOAIB AKHTER VS SHAHEEN
 
BouncerGuy said:
YOU GUYS NEED TO CALM DOWN AND TALK ABOUT THE TOPIC.

IS IS SHOAIB AKHTER VS SHAHEEN
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I agree - don’t know where Ashwin came from, but come on bro - be serious. For this thread to have any legs, you probably have to go off topic. The shoaib vs shaheen comparison is just laughable!
 
Shoaib Akhtar is a legend and an ATG that put fear into batters the night before.

He s a brand, A phenomenon, A one off.

You only have to listen to ex players globally wax lyrical about him to appreciate his impact on the world game.

The game is a better place for having this amazing character grace the game.

Despite his knees being damaged he was still another level and his Passion and desire to don the Green shirt makes him unforgettable in the memory even today.

We are yearning for another Shoaib Akhtar to burst on the scene and take Pakistan cricket by storm again. :akhtar

Shoaib gets into my all time X1 along with Waqar all day long.

Its un unfair comparison to make with Shaheen or anyone from this era.
 
Ab Fan said:
Ashwin is miles ahead of both Shoaib and Shaheen. It is an insult to Ashwin to compare them to Ashwin. Ashwin as a cricketer is also better than Waqar Younis.

Ashwin- top 40 cricketer material
Waqar - top 50 cricketer material
Shoaib - top 70 cricketer material
Shaheen - not even in top 100 cricketer material
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ashwin is a chucker that doesn't get called because of his boards influence over the ICC.

Thats a 💯 fact.
 
Kya Rana shb @Rana what sort of comparison is this? Shoaib 160KPH and Shaheen 130 KPH I don't even know how this comparison even comes to your mind 😜
 
Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH said:
Shoaib Akhtar is a legend and an ATG that put fear into batters the night before.

He s a brand, A phenomenon, A one off.

You only have to listen to ex players globally wax lyrical about him to appreciate his impact on the world game.

The game is a better place for having this amazing character grace the game.

Despite his knees being damaged he was still another level and his Passion and desire to don the Green shirt makes him unforgettable in the memory even today.

We are yearning for another Shoaib Akhtar to burst on the scene and take Pakistan cricket by storm again. :akhtar

Shoaib gets into my all time X1 along with Waqar all day long.

Its un unfair comparison to make with Shaheen or anyone from this era.
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Talent and hard work wise he is a beast, but the problem is his chamchagiri of India which irritates me. So yes in terms of this Shaheen is much more better than him.
 
FearlessRoar said:
Talent and hard work wise he is a beast, but the problem is his chamchagiri of India which irritates me. So yes in terms of this Shaheen is much more better than him.
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Cricket is all about level s and Shoaib was levels above.

I'm not a fan of his Indian shows celebrity lifestyle either but cricket wise its a different story.

Shaheen or anyone from this era is not in Shoaib s class or level.
 
Shoaib is ahead of Shaheen in terms of a workhorse. Shoaib was a hard worker and he had a never give up attitude which shaheen lacks.
 
Shoaib Akhtar is a legend. Shaheen is nothing as of now.

Growing up, for the longest time, I only knew of two cricketers, Shoaib was one of them. He was a legend and will always be legend in Pakistan.
 
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