Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Runs
- 44,824
Sadly we won't ever see this matchup happen

Last edited:
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Imagine if Shoaib had said the same thing about Virat Kohli?![]()
)Imagine if Shoaib had said the same thing about Virat Kohli?![]()
Dodgy
The guy dismissed Ponting, Langer, Gilchrist, Hayden numerous times when opposition teams used to have sleepless nights before stepping on to the field against them. Why couldn't he dismiss Smith?
Why so much hate for one of the greatest bowler the game has seen?
ATG stats too. Not just pace.
Exactly.
Shoaib is a motormouth Someone who talks a lot of nonsense Its not hate Its facts Something you seem to be unaware of when you call akhter an ATG
Why so much hate for one of the greatest bowler the game has seen?
ATG stats too. Not just pace.
Exactly.
ATG stats? An average of 36 and 35 in Tests against the two strongest batting sides of his time, i.e. Australia and India...
Yes, he had a great impact on the cricket world, no doubt.
Waqar averages 40 against Australia throughout the course of his career. Does it affect his status in the game?
I am discussing stats here. [MENTION=134608]Hawkeye[/MENTION] said Shoaib Akhtar has "ATG stats."
Waqar averaged 40 in Australia, not overall (33.xx). Akhtar's average in Australia is even higher than that.
Waqar averages a full 2 points lesser than Akhtar overall and has 200 more Test wickets. Those are true ATG stats.
Akhtar played against a much superior Australian team than Waqar did and has three five wicket hauls in test cricket against that team. Akhtar even contributed to a victory against that invincible side in 2002. Sure you can drool over Waqar's huge numbers filled with vastly inferior batsmen from 1989 to 1994 but when Shane Warne rates Akhtar above Waqar that tells something. Waqar averaged an invincible 19 from 1989 to 1998 but averaged close to 30 after that. He was very lucky to have been rewarded the captaincy and to have played many games during that time which he would not have been able to as a regular player.
Akhtar played against a much superior Australian team than Waqar did and has three five wicket hauls in test cricket against that team. Akhtar even contributed to a victory against that invincible side in 2002. Sure you can drool over Waqar's huge numbers filled with vastly inferior batsmen from 1989 to 1994 but when Shane Warne rates Akhtar above Waqar that tells something. Waqar averaged an invincible 19 from 1989 to 1998 but averaged close to 30 after that. He was very lucky to have been rewarded the captaincy and to have played many games during that time which he would not have been able to as a regular player.
Shoaib Akhtar is one of those guys who loves to be centre of attention and hence no surprises over here as well.
As for comparisons vs Waqar, I argue that between 1990-94, Waqar took close to 180 test wickets at average of 19.
Which period of Shoaib Akhtar should we take to make an argument for him over Waqar?
I doubt your knees would let you bowl 4 balls consecutively, Shoaib.

Lol Joffra Archer retired Steven Smith
As usual the Akhtar haters hijacking this thread. A guy who has dismissed Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag, Ganguly, Ponting, Gilchrist, Langer, Hayden, Fleming, Kallis numerous times is going to have problems against Steven Smith? Get the hell out of here
Lets be honest no great bowler has less than 200 test wickets If akhter had talked more on the pitch than of it he mightve rivalled waqar
As stats stand he shouldnt even be mnetioned in the same breath as waqar
Back to the topic one shouldnt take anything akhter has to say seriously Just smile and nod and say Of course he would![]()
Shoaib says this, shoaib says that. Is there a day that goes by without Shoaib saying anything.
I hope Smith replies and takes him on

lol some more of his fraud bravado.
The Perth Test in 1999 is often talked about as the peak of Shoaib's hostile bowling. And rightly so. His battle with Ponting challenges any other contest from among his peers.
But the reality of that game which many conveniently choose to ignore is that Australia were down at 54/4 when Shoaib had Ponting and Langer in his sights.
Ponting finished that innings on 197Pretty much the story of a lot of Akhtar's career. Lots of excitement generated, wow moments, but mostly ineffective as far as his team and nation were concerned.
Pakistan also lost that game by an innings. Actually, need not have mentioned this last point considering Pakistan's clean record in Australia![]()
The guy dismissed Ponting, Langer, Gilchrist, Hayden numerous times when opposition teams used to have sleepless nights before stepping on to the field against them. Why couldn't he dismiss Smith?
Steve smith averages 90 + with the bat against fast deliveries(140 +). Among contemporaries, Kohli averages the 2nd highest against fast bowling (55 +). we are talking about, arguably, the greatest player of pace in the history of the sport. Which good player of fast bowling did akhtar repeatedly dismiss in 4 balls in his time to even talk about the GOAT batsman?
View attachment 100937 [MENTION=151350]Mesozoic[/MENTION]
Batsman against 140+ pace
Interesting. Is there a way to know a batsman's avg against a particular pace ?
Steve smith averages 90 + with the bat against fast deliveries(140 +). Among contemporaries, Kohli averages the 2nd highest against fast bowling (55 +). we are talking about, arguably, the greatest player of pace in the history of the sport. Which good player of fast bowling did akhtar repeatedly dismiss in 4 balls in his time to even talk about the GOAT batsman?
How many rapid bowlers has he faced? Australia has the fastest bowlers and Steyn has been absent for a long time.
You are right,he has faced many bowlers above 140 kph but very less above 150 kph.
Shoaib akhtar vs smith will be a great battle,shoaib will target smith's leg stump with 150+ kph yorker as smith has a tendency to leave leg side wicket.
lol no. Langer is not even an Australian ATG. A very good Aussie opener, yes. Hayden has a better shot at that title and even he would struggle.Ponting and Langer are all time greats.
It will be similar to Shoaib vs Ponting where both men will have their moments where Ponting will dominate and when Shoaib will dismiss him cheaply as well.
. Akhtar got him out a paltry three times.Uhh, Ponting, Hayden, Gilcrhrist, Tendulkar, Dravid. It can be argued Steve Smith is batting in an era where there are just not enough quality bowlers around and he is blessed to be in the team with the best bowling attack.
And as pointed out by [MENTION=139758]pillionrider[/MENTION] , Akhtar was manhandled by ponting in tests. Not a great record against any of the others either.
lol no. Langer is not even an Australian ATG. A very good Aussie opener, yes. Hayden has a better shot at that title and even he would struggle.
The only reason Langer is hyped here, is because he's had positive things to say about Pakistan cricket and Saeed Anwar in particular (which he would, as a lefthander recognizing a classier batsman).
Except that this didn't happen. Ponting played Akhtar in 9 test matches where he averaged 76. Akhtar got him out a paltry three times.
The much-maligned Ishant Sharma has a better record. Ponting's average drops to 60 in 12 tests, with Sharma having got him 7 times.
In ODIs, Akhtar got Ponting out 5 times in 20 attempts where Ponting averaged 41.
Lol, i wonder how people in this thread would have reacted if Waqar said the same about Smith.
Waqar wouldnt say silly things like that Hes got more sense Thats the whole point
Lol, i wonder how people in this thread would have reacted if Waqar said the same about Smith.
People would respect Waqar's opinion as being more realistic.
The only person who could credibly throw a 4 ball challenge and pull it off on at least one occasion would be Wasim Akram.

As usual the Akhtar haters hijacking this thread. A guy who has dismissed Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag, Ganguly, Ponting, Gilchrist, Langer, Hayden, Fleming, Kallis numerous times is going to have problems against Steven Smith? Get the hell out of here
Smith is >> all those batsmen, except for maybe Tendulkar.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dear <a href="https://twitter.com/ICC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@icc</a>, find a new meme or Emoji. Sorry i couldn't find any, only found some real videos ���� <a href="https://t.co/eYID4ZXTvT">pic.twitter.com/eYID4ZXTvT</a></p>— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) <a href="https://twitter.com/shoaib100mph/status/1260589706552717314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Smith is >> all those batsmen, except for maybe Tendulkar.
Smith isnt better than tendulkar Ponting or David