"The truth is that no one remembers the semi-finalists and finalists. People only remember the champions": Imad Wasim

[MenInG]

Imad Wasim speaking in a media interaction at the Gaddafi Stadium


"I came back for one reason: not just for the sake of playing"

"Amir and I returned for one reason - to have one last go and win the World Cup. For the last while, we've been playing T20 World Cup semi-finals and finals, which is a very big achievement. But the truth is no one remembers the semi-finalists and finalists. People remember the champions. Our goal is to play those semi-finals and finals, and then to win that tournament. The result is in God's hands, but the players' mentality is to go and win the tournament."

"I returned not for my own benefit, but to represent my country in the best possible way and finish on a high note, and to try and please this nation of 250 million so we can celebrate together. This is our mission and our goal. Whether we achieve it or not who can say? It does not matter to me whether my contribution is small or big as long as we win the trophy. It's easier said than done, but I think if we play united and to our potential, we won't lose to anybody. That is my faith."

"I don't feel outside pressure, just the stress of the match, I only feel pressure centred around my performance, and nothing else. If you start thinking about outside pressure as well, you can't perform effectively. I don't say this arrogantly, but with confidence, that what happens and is said outside doesn't bother me in the slightest. I only worry about what my team needs of me, and whether or not I am delivering it."

 

[mominsaigol]

We've always needed more players like imad wasim in the team.

Not Amir though, Amir is class but he was always selfish and in it for the money.

Imad wasim is a champion cricketer, but Imad bhai, you should have stayed retired. You can't function in this team.

This a team where

A) Hardly anyone listens to the best coaches.

B) Double standards on selections.

C) A non merit captain just does whatever and opens for selfish reasons.

D) Friendship clique, most of these lads don't even wanna win the cup, Fakhar, Abrar and You are the only ones thinking about the nation.

You won't win this cup not for the lack of trying bit because your selfish teammates like babar, Chacha, hasan Ali, Rauf will let you down.

I wanna add rizwan to this list but he's been listening to coaches and stopped away from opening for saim so Maybe rizwan is coming into the light?

 

[mominsaigol]

It doesn't help that Pakistan is at its lowest atm. Pakistan needs to go back to the UAE, Pakistan grounds have ruined our youngsters.

Before we always had star performers come through for us but they were only ruined by poor management, or their own selfish nature's.

1) Sohaib maqsood burst onto the scene with 2 50's against all star sa but fell off.

2) Abid Ali, Fakhar, Imam, all bursting onto the scene.

3) Abdullah is another you can add to the list.

4) Akmal and Shehzad etc etc.

All good players who fell off due to attitude.

Now we don't have a single soul, Psl standards are so poor that these lads saim, Usman all get exposed in international.

Just go back to the UAE and play Psl their and have domestic over their.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Indian fans remember the semi finalists and Finalists of recent ODI world cups.

They were dishing out trophies to each other on some threads.

 

[mominsaigol]

Indian fans remember the semi finalists and Finalists of recent ODI world cups.

They were dishing out trophies to each other on some threads.

The only things Indian fans remember is crying after 2023 wc.

Tbf I feel for the Indian team, Imagine going unbeaten and outright dominating every team only for Australia to say Nope at the final moment.

Although tbf I had a feeling India would have been exposed eventually, their biggest issue throughout the tournament was that they were useless if wickets fell early as lower order was beyond weak.

Pat Cummings alone was superior as a bat to their no 8-11.

 

[Rana]

Lol in Pakistan we remember finalists who got a bye because of Netherlands

 

[shaz619]

Indian fans remember the semi finalists and Finalists of recent ODI world cups.

They were dishing out trophies to each other on some threads.

That’s generally after their 3 month camping trip following the defeats, proper class fans

 

[shaz619]

Imad has a proper winners mentality, failure is not an option

 

[Mamoon]

Imad has a proper winners mentality, failure is not an option

Is this why he averages 60+ with the ball in ODIs vs the top sides, averages 15 with the bat in T20Is and has taken 0 wickets vs India in international cricket?

@mominsaigol Which one of these three achievements make him a champion cricket?

 

[Slim]

Bodied an entire fan base of a player whose biggest achievement is reaching a final as a captain

 

[Usman Chadda]

Imad talks as if him and Amir will make this a champion side.

He himself was part of the semi-finals campaign in 2021, couldn't do jack against a rampaging Warner that day though.

Shadab literally clawed us back into the match.

 

[Slim]

Is this why he averages 60+ with the ball in ODIs vs the top sides, averages 15 with the bat in T20Is and has taken 0 wickets vs India in international cricket?

@mominsaigol Which one of these three achievements make him a champion cricket?

For example winning a PSL trophy as a captain that "someone" else has been unable to do.

 

[FearlessRoar]

But I still remember the finalists of the ICC ODI World Cup 2019.

 

[Technics 1210]

Spot on. Only Champions are remembered.

No one remembers the runners up, unless its the CT17/WC23 final.

 

[shaz619]

Is this why he averages 60+ with the ball in ODIs vs the top sides, averages 15 with the bat in T20Is and has taken 0 wickets vs India in international cricket?

@mominsaigol Which one of these three achievements make him a champion cricket?

What does he have in the trophy cabinet though both domestic and international

 

[mominsaigol]

Is this why he averages 60+ with the ball in ODIs vs the top sides, averages 15 with the bat in T20Is and has taken 0 wickets vs India in international cricket?

@mominsaigol Which one of these three achievements make him a champion cricket?

Well he averages 42 with the bat and SR of 110 in odi as a batsmen despite mostly batting at no 7 where it isnt that high. And imad is a batting allrounder, not a bowling allrounder.

Also while he hasn't kicked off much in t20 as a bat, his avg has improved from 15 to 17 due to his recent batting performance against NZ. In otherworld Imad's avg with the bat is increasing day by day.

Babar on the other hand despite averaging 48 2 years ago, Has been consistently declining with his avg dropping 8 points to 40 in 2024, infact had he not scored in the last game, it would drop to 39, which it might not considering the England series that's coming up.

As for bowling, he averages 44 with an eco of 4.88 which ie beyond excellent considering he's a batting allrounder.

In t20 the averages is 21 with an eco of 6.88, so no clue where you're fetching this 60 avg from. If you're highlighting year by year performance then Babar averages 19 in a single year in 2022 lol. With a 17 avg in the wc.

 

[cricketmania22]

For most tournaments I remember the finalists and even semifinalists. If you have played good cricket through the tournament and then lost in semis or finals, people will remember you.

Is this why he averages 60+ with the ball in ODIs vs the top sides, averages 15 with the bat in T20Is and has taken 0 wickets vs India in international cricket?

@mominsaigol Which one of these three achievements make him a champion cricket?

Additionally, he has only managed to hit 11 sixes in 46 innings in T20I matches. For someone batting at number 7-8, this level of performance is unacceptable.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Its a no brainer, maddy!

 

[Mamoon]

Well he averages 42 with the bat and SR of 110 in odi as a batsmen despite mostly batting at no 7 where it isnt that high. And imad is a batting allrounder, not a bowling allrounder.

Also while he hasn't kicked off much in t20 as a bat, his avg has improved from 15 to 17 due to his recent batting performance against NZ. In otherworld Imad's avg with the bat is increasing day by day.

Babar on the other hand despite averaging 48 2 years ago, Has been consistently declining with his avg dropping 8 points to 40 in 2024, infact had he not scored in the last game, it would drop to 39, which it might not considering the England series that's coming up.

As for bowling, he averages 44 with an eco of 4.88 which ie beyond excellent considering he's a batting allrounder.

In t20 the averages is 21 with an eco of 6.88, so no clue where you're fetching this 60 avg from. If you're highlighting year by year performance then Babar averages 19 in a single year in 2022 lol. With a 17 avg in the wc.

Your post is nothing but a sad excuse to justify a mediocre career.

Imad is not worthy of lacing Babar’s boots as a cricketer. It is a painful fact but it is what it is. Make peace with it.

The fact that some people are laboring under the delusional that they are on par as cricketers and have the same value is absolutely hysterical.

Babar is a far bigger cricketer who enjoys far more respect and love in the cricketing world than Imad does.

Babar will be remembered decades after his retirement as one of Pakistan’s finest batsman. Pakistani cricket fans in the future who would never see him play live would still know who he was and what he did just like people know about Imran Khan, Miandad, Wasim, Waqar, Inzamam, Akhtar etc. etc.

No one would know or even remember who Imad Wasim was few decades from now. He will just be another name on the team sheet.

Imad is an average cricketer; Babar is a top cricketer and someone who is well on his way of attaining legendary status for Pakistan cricket. It is a fact and denying it won’t make it easier.

 

[Mamoon]

For example winning a PSL trophy as a captain that "someone" else has been unable to do.

Everyone knows that Babar won Imad the PSL. Imad as a captain was badly exposed when Babar left for PZ.

In fact, Babar’s W/L ratio as PSL captain is comfortably better than Imad’s W/L ratio without Babar carrying.

Imad’s captaincy is a myth. He is a poor captain and a poor cricketer. Babar is clearly better than him both as a cricketer and as a captain.

 

[Mamoon]

What does he have in the trophy cabinet though both domestic and international

A semifinal and a final in 2 out of 3 tournaments as Pakistan captain is far from a bad result. The 2023 World Cup was a disaster but Pakistan is a very ODI team.

 

[mominsaigol]

Your post is nothing but a sad excuse to justify a mediocre career.

Imad is not worthy of lacing Babar’s boots as a cricketer. It is a painful fact but it is what it is. Make peace with it.

The fact that some people are laboring under the delusional that they are on par as cricketers and have the same value is absolutely hysterical.

Babar is a far bigger cricketer who enjoys far more respect and love in the cricketing world than Imad does.

Babar will be remembered decades after his retirement as one of Pakistan’s finest batsman. Pakistani cricket fans in the future who would never see him play live would still know who he was and what he did just like people know about Imran Khan, Miandad, Wasim, Waqar, Inzamam, Akhtar etc. etc.

No one would know or even remember who Imad Wasim was few decades from now. He will just be another name on the team sheet.

Imad is an average cricketer; Babar is a top cricketer and someone who is well on his way of attaining legendary status for Pakistan cricket. It is a fact and denying it won’t make it easier.

That's not the point. You quoted faulty statistics on me. I quoted what was correct and gave you the actual overall statistics.

Now you're shifting the entire argument because you've never once been able to counter me,

Just like it's nessassry to bring up 2017 to shut down your 2022 merit based final nonsense.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

It's a real shame how we wasted his potential. His bowling was never really about taking wickets, as much as it was about being accurate and stopping runs. But it's his batting that I always thought was very underrated. His ODI batting numbers against almost all the top teams are outstanding. He is someone who could have been a great No. 6 batter for Pakistan's limited-overs teams. Instead he always batted at 7 or below, where he was great but you could have gotten so much more out of him as a cricketer.

 

[Mamoon]

That's not the point. You quoted faulty statistics on me. I quoted what was correct and gave you the actual overall statistics.

Now you're shifting the entire argument because you've never once been able to counter me,

Just like it's nessassry to bring up 2017 to shut down your 2022 merit based final nonsense.

No, I didn’t quite and faulty stats. You are shying away from them because it exposes your agenda.

It is a fact that Imad averages around 60 with the ball vs the top ODI sides. Don’t give me this rubbish that he is not batting all-rounder etc.

Throughout his ODI career, Imad has played as one of the 5 specialist bowlers so no, he is not a “batting all rounder”

“Batting all rounders” are not one of the 5 bowling options in ODIs, expected to bowl 10 overs most of the time.

If he was a sixth bowling option, his embarrassing stats as a bowler would have been acceptable but as a frontline bowler, his stats are diabolical beyond measure.

Whatever decent job that he has done as a batsman is completely negated by his atrocious returns with the ball. His net value to the team is negative.

Imad’s equivalent example would be a bowler who averages 27 with the ball but bats in the top four and averages 10 with the bat.

Again - Imad played ODIs as one of the two frontline spinners and one of the five frontline bowlers, hence the “batting all rounder” excuse doesn’t fly.

It is a fact that Imad has 0 wickets vs India in international cricket. As I told you earlier, you can use this as a flex. You have the same number of wickets vs India as Imad does.

It is a fact that Imad “but he is a batting all rounder” averages 16 with the bat in T20Is in 46 innings. Now the excuse would be that he is a batting all rounder in ODIs but a bowling all rounder in T20Is so please judge him by his economy rate bla bla. your own “batting all rounder” excuse makes him look like a crap T20I cricketer.

So much mental gymnastics and straw clutching just to avoid admitting that Imad is a mediocre cricketer.

 

[Mamoon]

It's a real shame how we wasted his potential. His bowling was never really about taking wickets, as much as it was about being accurate and stopping runs. But it's his batting that I always thought was very underrated. His ODI batting numbers against almost all the top teams are outstanding. He is someone who could have been a great No. 6 batter for Pakistan's limited-overs teams. Instead he always batted at 7 or below, where he was great but you could have gotten so much more out of him as a cricketer.

This is a fair point, he has batted well in ODIs, but his bowling was tripe for someone who was one of the frontline bowlers.

If he was a 6th bowling option, it would have been acceptable, but he was one of the two main spinners.

ODI bowling was always beyond him. He should have fully focused on becoming a middle-order batsman and had he done that, he would have brought some value to the team.

You can’t do much to make yourself useful in the ODI format if you are averaging around 60 with the ball as a frontline bowler vs the top sides. That is beyond terrible.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Imad, actually, is his own worst enemy, he never stopped smoking which never allowed him to fully transition into that next-level athlete. His numbers in ODI are a bit inflated but then again if it was easy to inflate numbers, other players would be doing so as well.

The most valuable aspect of Imad as a cricketer is his brain, which for the most part, works better at the game than our current captain and his entourage. If Babar was smart, he would seek counsel from Imad for on-field decisions than go to Rizwan or Shaheen, both of whom seem to not be quick witted in times of crises (or so I've observed).

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

This is a fair point, he has batted well in ODIs, but his bowling was tripe for someone who was one of the frontline bowlers.

If he was a 6th bowling option, it would have been acceptable, but he was one of the two main spinners.

ODI bowling was always beyond him. He should have fully focused on becoming a middle-order batsman and had he done that, he would have brought some value to the team.

You can’t do much to make yourself useful in the ODI format if you are averaging around 60 with the ball as a frontline bowler vs the top sides. That is beyond terrible.

I don't think Imad was ever good enough to be a fifth bowling option in ODIs. Especially in this day and age when flat wickets are the norm. But his batting potential is something we never fully tapped into. Which is ironic for a team that has struggled to find a reliable number 6 in ODIs for as long as I can remember.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Imad, actually, is his own worst enemy, he never stopped smoking which never allowed him to fully transition into that next-level athlete. His numbers in ODI are a bit inflated but then again if it was easy to inflate numbers, other players would be doing so as well.

The most valuable aspect of Imad as a cricketer is his brain, which for the most part, works better at the game than our current captain and his entourage. If Babar was smart, he would seek counsel from Imad for on-field decisions than go to Rizwan or Shaheen, both of whom seem to not be quick witted in times of crises (or so I've observed).

When did smoking become such a detriment to physical fitness? I know plenty of people who smoke and are in remarkable physical shape. Alot of cricketers like Stokes and Root probably smoke too. You get physically fit by eating right and working out. What does smoking have to do with it?

 

[Rana]

When did smoking become such a detriment to physical fitness? I know plenty of people who smoke and are in remarkable physical shape. Alot of cricketers like Stokes and Root probably smoke too. You get physically fit by eating right and working out. What does smoking have to do with it?

It is a cardio hurdle. No fast bowler during his playing years will smoke. Nor footballers or those athletes who will be running around in their sport.

Spinners are a bit different. They don’t really need to be in peak stamina for their input in the game. Batsmen, well I don’t think the long, marathon test batsmen smoke.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

It is a cardio hurdle. No fast bowler during his playing years will smoke. Nor footballers or those athletes who will be running around in their sport.

Spinners are a bit different. They don’t really need to be in peak stamina for their input in the game. Batsmen, well I don’t think the long, marathon test batsmen smoke.

Some people have great cardio that they develop at a young age. They are not as affected by something like smoking. Also, there were plenty of fast-bowlers throughout history that smoked cigarettes and alot of other stuff too.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Yeah, Imad, people always remember the champs. Try hard to be champions this time. People have invested a lot of faith in this team and now it is time for them to replay them back. No excuse left now for this team. If they lose, nobody is going to believe a single word these guys say in interviews. All words and no show means nothing.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Some good stuff for Imad today as his economical spell helped to weather the Irish storm. His figures so far against Pakistan in the series decider 1/23 in 3 overs.

 

[Rana]

Pakistan’s most clutch bowler in this series

 

[The Bald Eagle]

How good was this delivery?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1790404087709671682