Unpopular opinions: Cricket edition

[Abdullah719]

Another annoying, but occasionally interesting trend on social media these days is about unpopular opinions, so here's the cricketing edition. What say?!

I'll start. Shahid Afridi's best format was Test cricket

 

[TeymurBlake]

Younis Khan is an ATG in Test Cricket

 

[babajee]

Babar Azam is the 2nd best one day batsman in world cricket now that AB has gone.

 

[Asch Ali]

MY TRUE OPINION:

Mo Nawaz is a better LOI bowler than Shadab Khan

 

[Khan12]

MY TRUE OPINION:

Mo Nawaz is a better LOI bowler than Shadab Khan

And asif Ali should open in tests.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Ahmed Shehzad was going to be brilliant player for us but that blow by C Anderson destroyed his confidence.

 

[AuxiliA]

I actually like the format of the '19 world cup. It's more fair (at least to the teams participating). Every team plays every other and there are no quarter finals which were pointless anyway as they were so predictable.

If only they had playoffs instead of the semis so that the group stage performances would have been more rewarding.

 

[Lefthanded]

MoYo is an ATG.

 

[trickyone]

Pakistan winning a Championship Trophy (Four games in a row) wasn't a fluke...

 

[aloo paratha]

James Anderson is a great of the game, not legendary though.

 

[Suleiman]

Nice thread idea. Will see people's true faces now.

Kamran Akmal is the best wicket keeper batsman Pakistan has ever had when you take his entire career into account.

Change my mind.

 

[JaDed]

India achieved much more than Pakistan in tests outside Asia during 70s and 80's.

 

[JaDed]

Pakistan winning a Championship Trophy (Four games in a row) wasn't a fluke...

Pakistan's four games in a row being a fluke is actually an unpopular opinion atleast here on PP, there is just one poster who says it.

 

[Asch Ali]

And asif Ali should open in tests.

WHAT??? I only said he should open in T20s/ODIs which is a BRILLIANT idea!!!

 

[TeymurBlake]

Shahid Afridi had more potential as a player than Shadab Khan.

 

[coy0607]

Nice thread idea. Will see people's true faces now.

Kamran Akmal is the best wicket keeper batsman Pakistan has ever had when you take his entire career into account.

Change my mind.

Unpopular and incorrect!

 

[ManFan]

VK and Amir are overrated.

Add Sobers and Kallis to that list as well.

 

[msb314]

1) Ahmed Shehzad will return to the team soon on the basis of his good performance against Scotland (yes calling it in advance!). He will captain Pakistan one day in one format or the other but it will happen...

2) Sarfraz will be dropped on the basis of his poor form within a year and will be replaced as captain by.... Mohammad Amir. There will be complaints against this but I think it will be the right decision. Rizwan will return as first choice keeper and will do well (both as a keeper and as a batsman)

3) The 2019 WC will end in heart break for us - not sure how and when (i.e. final, SF or group stage) but we will screw up at the clutch moment and get eliminated. It will be an ugly end to Malik and Hafeez's career...

 

[Slim]

1) Azhar and Shafiq need to be booted out of the squad to give them a lesson.

2) Babar has only performed well against players who wear the Windies shirt.

3) Shehzad will make a comeback to the Pakistani test squad.

4) Muhammad Nawaz is a rubbish player but gets selected because of Sarfraz.

 

[Slim]

1) Ahmed Shehzad will return to the team soon on the basis of his good performance against Scotland (yes calling it in advance!). He will captain Pakistan one day in one format or the other but it will happen...

2) Sarfraz will be dropped on the basis of his poor form within a year and will be replaced as captain by.... Mohammad Amir. There will be complaints against this but I think it will be the right decision. Rizwan will return as first choice keeper and will do well (both as a keeper and as a batsman)

3) The 2019 WC will end in heart break for us - not sure how and when (i.e. final, SF or group stage) but we will screw up at the clutch moment and get eliminated. It will be an ugly end to Malik and Hafeez's career...

Interesting predictions/opinions.

1) This is the longest shot, has a low chance of happening. I for one see his international career almost ending if he fails in the Scotland series. What made you make this prediction?

2) Rizwan is a poor player. I hope we find another keeper but yes i can see Sarfraz getting the boot unfortunately due to his own doing. I hope Sarf gets back with his form.

3) This is the most horrific one, i hope it doesnt turns out that way.

 

[Slim]

Pakistan is a better test team outside of Asia than India.

Pakistan's LOI team is on par with India.

 

[msb314]

Another annoying, but occasionally interesting trend on social media these days is about unpopular opinions, so here's the cricketing edition. What say?!

I'll start. Shahid Afridi's best format was Test cricket

Not sure how that is "unpopular" given that it is based on factual data.

Afridi's Test batting average is considerably higher than that of his ODi and T20 averages with enough of a sample size. It helps that Afridi often opened in Tests and took advantage of the attacking field settings to score briskly.

His SR is considerably lower but that is understandable given the longevity of the format.

His purple patch in Tests from 2005-07 helped his Tests stats since I believe he averaged 50+ at a 90 SR in Tests during that time.

 

[msb314]

Interesting predictions/opinions.

1) This is the longest shot, has a low chance of happening. I for one see his international career almost ending if he fails in the Scotland series. What made you make this prediction?

2) Rizwan is a poor player. I hope we find another keeper but yes i can see Sarfraz getting the boot unfortunately due to his own doing. I hope Sarf gets back with his form.

3) This is the most horrific one, i hope it doesnt turns out that way.

Ahmed is one good series away from becoming a mainstay of the T20 squad and being give an extended run in the T20 team. To be honest - are their any other options? Umar Amin is a dud with the bat whilst Kamran is too old to be considered for the team again. Haris Sohail is unlikely to be given the opening slot since the team management prefers him to bat at no. 3 / 4. We could give Sahibzada Farhan a chance but I think Mickey will not go that route due us having many youngsters in the team already Shehzad and Fakhar will be mainstay of our opening batting slots for a while whether people accept it or not.

After a year or so - Ahmed may be considered for captaincy provided he does well and stays out of controversy. It is not as far fetched as some people think it might be...

 

[Slim]

Ahmed is one good series away from becoming a mainstay of the T20 squad and being give an extended run in the T20 team. To be honest - are their any other options? Umar Amin is a dud with the bat whilst Kamran is too old to be considered for the team again. Haris Sohail is unlikely to be given the opening slot since the team management prefers him to bat at no. 3 / 4. We could give Sahibzada Farhan a chance but I think Mickey will not go that route due us having many youngsters in the team already Shehzad and Fakhar will be mainstay of our opening batting slots for a while whether people accept it or not.

After a year or so - Ahmed may be considered for captaincy provided he does well and stays out of controversy. It is not as far fetched as some people think it might be...

Fair points. I believe the scotland series is an important one because if he fails people will give him serious flak for not being able to perform even against minnows. The backlash wrt to him is already pretty high. I do see your point in terms of captaincy but thats wholly reliant on his performance. He can only help himself in this. I remember how he was in serious contention for t20i captaincy which he blew up with the dilshan fiasco.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

Ahmad shehzad is still best batsman in Pakistan after Babar azam

 

[Mamoon]

Anderson is an all-time great.

Kohli will go down as the greatest batsman of all time.

Yasir and Warner are the two most overrated cricketers in the world.

Waqar would have been half the bowler without bowling with tampered balls.

Younis is the worst batsman in history to score 10k runs.

Muralitharan is a cheat whose records should be wiped out.

Imran Khan’s innings in the 92 semifinal was worse than Misbah’s Mohali, but luckily Inzamam played the innings of his life to save the day. Unfortunately, no one could do the rescue job for Misbah.

Imran Khan takes too much credit for the development of players in his tenure.

Kapil is the greatest ODI all-rounder of all time.

Afridi is an ODI great, and a much better bowler than what his numbers show.

Ganguly was a better ODI opener than Anwar.

Salman Butt was developing into a world class, all-format opener in 2009/2010, and would have broken Anwar’s 20 centuries ODI record by now.

Pakistan will have a miserable World Cup next year.

Jos Buttler is nearly as talented as de Villiers.

India will dominate cricket for years to come.

Mohammad Amir will never take a 5-fer in ODIs.

Haris Sohail will not improve his temperament and will fade away in a couple of years.

Umar and Shehzad will make successful comebacks to the national team.

Pakistan will not make it to the top four of Tests and ODIs in years.

Pakistan’s number one T20 ranking is a complete joke.

Joe Root is the most gifted batsman in the world, he will surpass Smith and Williamson to end up as the second greatest batsman of this era after Kohli.

Steyn is the most overrated fast bowler of all time.

Sangakkara is the second greatest left-handed batsman of all time after Lara.

Sehwag is an ATG.

A young Faisal Iqbal was good enough to have a stellar international career. A mediocre talent cannot handle a peak Warne like he did in Colombo, at the age of 20-21.

Kamran is Pakistan’s greatest wicket-keeper batsman of all time.

Azhar Ali is a rubbish Test batsman.

Last but not the least . . .

Pakistan’s 2017 Champions Trophy win was a fluke.

 

[JattMaula]

Anderson is an all-time great.

Kohli will go down as the greatest batsman of all time.

Yasir and Warner are the two most overrated cricketers in the world.

Waqar would have been half the bowler without bowling with tampered balls.

Younis is the worst batsman in history to score 10k runs.

Muralitharan is a cheat whose records should be wiped out.

Imran Khan’s innings in the 92 semifinal was worse than Misbah’s Mohali, but luckily Inzamam played the innings of his life to save the day. Unfortunately, no one could do the rescue job for Misbah.

Imran Khan takes too much credit for the development of players in his tenure.

Kapil is the greatest ODI all-rounder of all time.

Afridi is an ODI great, and a much better bowler than what his numbers show.

Ganguly was a better ODI opener than Anwar.

Salman Butt was developing into a world class, all-format opener in 2009/2010, and would have broken Anwar’s 20 centuries ODI record by now.

Pakistan will have a miserable World Cup next year.

Jos Buttler is nearly as talented as de Villiers.

India will dominate cricket for years to come.

Mohammad Amir will never take a 5-fer in ODIs.

Haris Sohail will not improve his temperament and will fade away in a couple of years.

Umar and Shehzad will make successful comebacks to the national team.

Pakistan will not make it to the top four of Tests and ODIs in years.

Pakistan’s number one T20 ranking is a complete joke.

Joe Root is the most gifted batsman in the world, he will surpass Smith and Williamson to end up as the second greatest batsman of this era after Kohli.

Steyn is the most overrated fast bowler of all time.

Sangakkara is the second greatest left-handed batsman of all time after Lara.

Sehwag is an ATG.

A young Faisal Iqbal was good enough to have a stellar international career. A mediocre talent cannot handle a peak Warne like he did in Colombo, at the age of 20-21.

Kamran is Pakistan’s greatest wicket-keeper batsman of all time.

Azhar Ali is a rubbish Test batsman.

Last but not the least . . .

Pakistan’s 2017 Champions Trophy win was a fluke.

This thread and you are a match made in haven.

 

[babajee]

Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali are the best ODI bowlers in the world. Fact.

 

[Shaka81]

T20 cricket has done more to spread the appeal of cricket than the other formats in all the time they've existed. And it has now surpassed Test cricket as the best format.

 

[Khan12]

Kholi along with amla are one of the biggest chokers.

Anderson is not even in the top 10 bowlers in test cricket history but is going to get the most wickets same with broad.

A lot of centuries scored by Tendulkar ended in defeats.

 

[Abdul]

Joe Root is a rubbish Test batsman.

 

[Abdul]

India’s number one Test ranking is a complete joke.

 

[ArsenalFC]

Inzamam is the most overrated selector.

Misbah should have been axed from test cricket after losing a test in Zimbabwe in 2013 and replaced by Fawad Alam.

Misbah did more harm than good for Pakistan cricket from 2013 - 2017.

Najam Sethi was behind Sharjeel's ban to feed his ego since the evidence for his spot fixing claim are non existent.

Umar Akmal's downfall is partly to blame on Waqar and Misbah for favouring Shafiq (failed investment) ahead of him.

Younis Khan would have been the best captain from 2013 - 2016.

Sharjeel and Fakhar opening would have been the most destructive ODI opening combination.

Saeed Ajmal was a deceptive chucker and a cheat.

Babar Azam is the most overrated T20 batsman in the world.

Faheem Ashraf is a poor man's Pandya.

Afridi won more matches for Pakistan than Misbah in LOIs.

Rohit Sharma is the most overrated opener currently in LOIs.

Najam Sethi is one of the most shady of people in Pakistan.

Scotland should be promoted to test status in expense of Bangladesh.

Australia would whitewash Pakistan in UAE if they had Smith and Warner in their XI.

Performing sujda after every milestone against any opposition doesn't make you a better Muslim or cricketer. It just reveals your small mentality.

Pakistan cricket needs to become more secular and diminish all ties from Tableeghi Jamat and any individuals in the team, management, or PCB associated with them.

If Kohli was Pakistani he would have no haters from Pakistan fans on this forum.

 

[Ozymandiasza]

Joe Root is the most gifted batsman in the world, he will surpass Smith and Williamson to end up as the second greatest batsman of this era after Kohli.

Steyn is the most overrated fast bowler of all time.

Overrating Joe "50" Root and then stating Steyn is overrated. Sometimes I wonder if you're actually a comedy genius.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Bangladesh has given absolutely nothing to the cricket world.

Inzamam's focus on youth is the greatest gift to Pakistani cricket since Imran kicked out Majid Khan from the team.

Average Pakistani doesn't give a toss about playing with India and vice versa.

A B DeVilliers' mindset is the reason why SA kept its tradition of losing big matches in ICC events.

Imran Khan is the greatest cricketer ever.

Sehwag is the greatest cricketer India has produced in the last 30 years - followed by Kohli and Ganguly.

India has the best all round team in world cricket in all formats - but its strategic mistakes will deny it silverware at major events/series.

Cricket in the UAE has done more damage to Pakistan cricket's future than Sri Lankan bus attack.

Next series loss in UAE in 2018 will lead it to be dumped as a preferred home venue for many years.

England wins because of Bairstow and Stoke - way more than it does because of Cook, Anderson and Broad.

Dump Australia for a couple of years out of Cricketing calendar and it won't be missed - their pitches have become too flat and their ways have become too rogue.

No country should be allowed to play a single ICC game unless it has its own citizens make up 100% of the team.

New Zealand do well at home because teams underestimate them. They aren't that good.

West Indian test cricketers look like they don't care about playing for their shirt. This is despite Sri Lanka win.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

me trying to avoid all the negativity on this thread.....

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Joe Root is nothing special.Worst batsman and worst captain of the ‘Fab 4’

Pakistan will reach top 3 in ODI’s in the next 2 years.

Hassan Ali will do well in Test Cricket.

West Indies will rise again.

Afghanistan have benefitted a lot from India.

Imran Khan is the best allrounder of all time after Sobers.And he’s the best in ODI’s.

Kohli will end up better than Tendulkar.

Murali was better than Warne.

England are an average side at home and are chokers.

 

[cricketworm]

Most pitches in England are flat. (It's the condition)

 

[Cozyrensetter]

Ponting was >>>>>>Tendulkar
Hafeez is truly an asset for Pakistan.
Hardik Pandya >>>Faheem Ashraf

 

[Forum363]

Anderson is an all-time great.

Kohli will go down as the greatest batsman of all time.

Yasir and Warner are the two most overrated cricketers in the world.

Waqar would have been half the bowler without bowling with tampered balls.

Younis is the worst batsman in history to score 10k runs.

Muralitharan is a cheat whose records should be wiped out.

Imran Khan’s innings in the 92 semifinal was worse than Misbah’s Mohali, but luckily Inzamam played the innings of his life to save the day. Unfortunately, no one could do the rescue job for Misbah.

Imran Khan takes too much credit for the development of players in his tenure.

Kapil is the greatest ODI all-rounder of all time.

Afridi is an ODI great, and a much better bowler than what his numbers show.

Ganguly was a better ODI opener than Anwar.

Salman Butt was developing into a world class, all-format opener in 2009/2010, and would have broken Anwar’s 20 centuries ODI record by now.

Pakistan will have a miserable World Cup next year.

Jos Buttler is nearly as talented as de Villiers.

India will dominate cricket for years to come.

Mohammad Amir will never take a 5-fer in ODIs.

Haris Sohail will not improve his temperament and will fade away in a couple of years.

Umar and Shehzad will make successful comebacks to the national team.

Pakistan will not make it to the top four of Tests and ODIs in years.

Pakistan’s number one T20 ranking is a complete joke.

Joe Root is the most gifted batsman in the world, he will surpass Smith and Williamson to end up as the second greatest batsman of this era after Kohli.

Steyn is the most overrated fast bowler of all time.

Sangakkara is the second greatest left-handed batsman of all time after Lara.

Sehwag is an ATG.

A young Faisal Iqbal was good enough to have a stellar international career. A mediocre talent cannot handle a peak Warne like he did in Colombo, at the age of 20-21.

Kamran is Pakistan’s greatest wicket-keeper batsman of all time.

Azhar Ali is a rubbish Test batsman.

Last but not the least . . .

Pakistan’s 2017 Champions Trophy win was a fluke.

I would love to hear the rationale behind Kamran akmal.... I actually believe he is one of if not the worst batsman to ever play for us consistently in my memory. However he is an allrounder, but his keeping was undeniably atrocious measured by the sheer number of drops. Sure everyone does it but no one has dropped as many as kami. True, he was decent pre 06 and had the potential to be world class but this never materialised and he became absolutely terrible.

To add to this thread and keeping on that track - Kamran Akmal’s hundred against india after irfan Pathan had taken the hattrick in the first over is THE most overrated innings in the history of cricket. Spoken about as if zeus himself descended from the skies and played on an absolute minefield.

 

[bujhee kom]

SRT was a choker and rarely dominated attacks in Tests.

Wasim Akram is overrated.

Murali was a chucker.

England are not very good and are mental midgets.

Shakib is as good as Kapil.

Bangladesh are minnows and my countrymen should not go crazy after a win or two.

WI will be consistently competitive again.

Kolhi > SRT.

Ponting was the batsman of his era overall. Lara in Tests but RTP if all is considered.

 

[Savage]

Great Thread,Perhaps the best I've seen here.

1)Team like India shouldn't have reached the final of CT 2017 last year.

India displayed a bit selfish and unadventurous brand of cricket.They just kept playing inside their Comfort Zone even when situations demanded to take some risks.Indian team were no doubt talented and most importantly experienced but their defensive mindset was quite visible on field and also with their selections.I still don't understand why kuldeep yadav wasn't picked in place of rahane in CT squad.

2)Pujara was easily 2nd best Test batsmen of this generation after his Series saving performance in recent BG Trophy 2017.(Only considered players that made their debut in this decade)

I've always felt he hardly got any credit that he deserved from Indian fans.

Smith was obviously no 1.Pujara was(is) comfortably a league above Kohli at home.If we remove Kohli's Australian series in 2014,(which you shouldn't as he was great but I'm only doing this to prove my point) his away performance wasn't any better than Pujara at that time.(also suggested by stats where kohli Away average was 37 while pujara was 38)

That Australian away series doesn't cover up the difference between Pujara's and Kohli's home performance.

Yes kohli was very good in his first Australian tour away 2012 but Pujara also played a great Match-winning knock in series decider against SL(2015).That win was very important as it was India's first Test series win in a very long Time(2 years).Fans would've lost confidence in Indian Test team if India lost another series at that time.

Even before that Australian home series 2017(where Pujara was great and Kohli was pathetic),Pujara was still significantly ahead of kohli at home.

It is only because of Home/Subcontinent success India is deservingly ranked no 1 and also comfortably ahead of everybody else in Test rankings right now.

After SL bashing at home kohli followed it by ATG series(top run scorer of that series) in SA away where Pujara was Poor.So ATM I would say Kohli deserves to be rated ahead of Pujara in Tests.And Like ranking suggests,kohli is 2nd best Test batsmen right now after Smith.

3)Pujara is unquestionably biggest HTB of this generation.

Pujara's home performance is comfortably better than warner While Warner is better away from home.

Likes of Rohit Sharma,Khawaja hasn't played enough test matches for me to consider them.Voges also played around 20 matches

4)Azhar ali is underrated as Odi batsmen IMO.

Whatever little I saw of him,he came across as selfless batsmen(ODIs) who was trying his best to win matches for his team by playing outside his comfort Zone(not his natural play).He might still be mediocre Odi batsmen,Definitely not highly talented or match-winner but his Odi average and Strike Rate is still
better than Ahmed shehzad.We should not forget his instrumental contribution throughout the CT last year(SF and especially Final).

5)SA would've beaten India in CT last year if it wasn't for Ab's runout or SA Choke.

SA would've reached 300 with AB scoring atleast 50.

Unlike Ct final,I think it would've been very close match but at the end of day India's middle order/lower order would've disappointed us.

That match should always be remembered as one of the underrated chokes by SA

6)India could've won the CT final if it wasn't for Amir's freak spell.

India needed 340 which is almost impossible in any ICC final.But Pitch was absolute road and 400 runs could've been chased on that sort of pitch.If India somehow managed to play out first 10 overs without losing any wickets(like they did 3 out of 4 times before that match) then things would've only gotten easier for India.I don't think Amir would've been threatening with old ball and hasan Ali would've struggled on that pitch.Shadab would've been danger for India though.In the end,I'd still back Pakistan to win from that situation but match would've been close.India eventually lost 3 wickets against new ball and all those wickets were taken by Amir.

7)Steve smith was best player of year 2017 not Kohli.

8)IPL is much better than PSL(It is unpopular in PP)

I might add some more later.

 

[Ozymandiasza]

Steven Smith will not be the same player when he comes back. His average will drop sharply but he will end up as an Australian great. This in itself is a damn fine achievement.

Although my opinion has changed over time, when Steyn and Morkel first appeared, I rated Morkel higher.

The IPL is awesome. I really enjoyed the few matches I've watched.

Kohli is a choker, or rather, Kohli has choked.

SRT is overrated. He's a top tier ATG for sure, but I certainly don't see this magical godlike aura some of the posters seem to see.

Kallis was very dull and him bowling looked weird.

Gary Kirsten is a traitor who abandoned us in 2013 for no other reason than money. I believe we would have won the 2015 WC with him.

South Africa will win the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

I'd love to hear from [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION].

 

[Finisher]

Lara was better then Tendulkar

 

[ManFan]

Lara was better then Tendulkar

He was.

 

[EliteCynical]

Steyn is the greatest fast bowler of all time

 

[EliteCynical]

IMHO Wasim Akram was a natural, who till this date doesnt understand how the ball moved. Plus his technical nuances are not good for a man of his stature.

 

[EliteCynical]

Kallis is the greatest all rounder of all time. Had he been English or Australian, he would have got the respect he deserved.

 

[EliteCynical]

The greatest Pakistani bowlers are Mohammed Asif and Saqlain Mushtaq.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Pakistan

Waqar Younis is not an ATG. He did not have single good world cup and performed poorly against strong batting line-ups of his time.

Younis Khan is a borderline ATG and the best test batsman Pakistan has ever produced.

Yasir Shah will retire as the greatest Pakistani spinner in tests.

Babar, Shadab, and Hassan have ATG potential.

Sarfraz is the greatest Pakistani captain since Imran Khan. He is also the greatest Pakistani wicket keeper batsman of all time across all formats.

Most of the Pakistani spinners who are not able to find a place in the national team will be first choice spinners for most other teams.

Asad Shafiq is a mediocre batsman who should be dropped permanently.


India

Kohli is a poor captain. Faf, Sarfraz, Kane, and Smith are better captains.

Ashwin is the biggest HTB of all time who will be out of the Indian team within next 18 months.

Pandya is a garbage player and will remain so. His bubble will burst within a year.

Bumrah and Rahul have the potential to be ATGs of the game.


England

Anderson and Broad are fast bowling versions of Kumble and Harbhajan. They are not even among the top 30 fast bowlers of all time.

Joe Root is inferior to Kohli, Smith, Kane, and Warner.

England are bigger chokers than SA.

Bairstow can be a 50+ averaging batsman in tests and a 40+ in ODIs if he gives up gloves.


South Africa

Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock were world class batsmen of their time. They were no Rahat Ali or Murali with bat.

Steyn is the third greatest fast bowler of all time. Only Marshall and McGrath were better.

AB Devilliers was a selfish player with a heart of a chicken.

Philander is underrated and De Kock is overrated.

Kallis is the most underrated cricketer of all time. He was the most complete cricketer since Sobers.


Australia

If Smith was born 30 years ago, he would have been an automatic choice in most of the world XIs based on his career average.

Gilchrist is among the top 3 greatest cricketers of all time with Sobers and Kallis.

McGrath was more valuable for Australia than Warne.

If one selects the most clutch XI of all time, it will only have Australian players.


New Zealand

Ross Taylor is a better ODI batsman than Kane.


Sri Lanka

Kumar Sangakarra in his peak was as good as Tendulkar and Ponting.

Aravinda De Silva was a more valuable ODI player than the likes of Inzimam, Ganguly, etc.

Ranatunga is the greatest Asian ODI captain of all time.


West Indies

Lara played better test innings than Tendulkar but Tendulkar was far more consistent and should be rated higher. Lara was better than Ponting in both tests and ODIs.

Viv Richards is the greatest ODI batsman of all time.

Chris Gayle was the last world class cricketer WI produced.


Bangladesh

Shakib will retire as an ATG.

 

[Abdul]

Amir is the worst bowler in the history of cricket.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Bumrah will retire as an atg in all formats.
Bumrah>Hassan in tests.

Kohli will score a double century in England.
Kl rahul will retire as an atg.

Kl rahul is the best t20 batsman in india.

Kohli is goat in odis.

Mohd Shami should be in our odi team.

Kuldeep will replace ashwin in tests.

If anderson is an atg than so is kumble.

Rohit will retire as an odi atg. He can decimate any attack on his day.

Rohit will smack amir in asia cup this year

Yuvraj would have been an odi atg only if cancer didn't come his way.

Irfan pathan is the biggest loss to indian cricket.

Hardik will be prolific in wc 2019.

Indian test bowling >pakistan.

Bhuvi is the best current fast bowler from asia in test cricket.

 

[Darkrai]

Amir is the worst bowler in the history of cricket.

Good to see so called world class Indian batsmen were humiliated by the worst bowler in the history-they should give up on cricket, embarrassing.

 

[Abdul]

Good to see so called world class Indian batsmen were humiliated by the worst bowler in the history-they should give up on cricket, embarrassing.

Flukes happen sometimes.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Flukes happen sometimes.

Well he has owned them in Asia Cup and WT20 too.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Bairstow is England's most gifted batsman, ever.

 

[msb314]

Anderson is an all-time great.

Kohli will go down as the greatest batsman of all time.

Yasir and Warner are the two most overrated cricketers in the world.

Waqar would have been half the bowler without bowling with tampered balls.

Younis is the worst batsman in history to score 10k runs.

Muralitharan is a cheat whose records should be wiped out.

Imran Khan’s innings in the 92 semifinal was worse than Misbah’s Mohali, but luckily Inzamam played the innings of his life to save the day. Unfortunately, no one could do the rescue job for Misbah.

Imran Khan takes too much credit for the development of players in his tenure.

Kapil is the greatest ODI all-rounder of all time.

Afridi is an ODI great, and a much better bowler than what his numbers show.

Ganguly was a better ODI opener than Anwar.

Salman Butt was developing into a world class, all-format opener in 2009/2010, and would have broken Anwar’s 20 centuries ODI record by now.

Pakistan will have a miserable World Cup next year.

Jos Buttler is nearly as talented as de Villiers.

India will dominate cricket for years to come.

Mohammad Amir will never take a 5-fer in ODIs.

Haris Sohail will not improve his temperament and will fade away in a couple of years.

Umar and Shehzad will make successful comebacks to the national team.

Pakistan will not make it to the top four of Tests and ODIs in years.

Pakistan’s number one T20 ranking is a complete joke.

Joe Root is the most gifted batsman in the world, he will surpass Smith and Williamson to end up as the second greatest batsman of this era after Kohli.

Steyn is the most overrated fast bowler of all time.

Sangakkara is the second greatest left-handed batsman of all time after Lara.

Sehwag is an ATG.

A young Faisal Iqbal was good enough to have a stellar international career. A mediocre talent cannot handle a peak Warne like he did in Colombo, at the age of 20-21.

Kamran is Pakistan’s greatest wicket-keeper batsman of all time.

Azhar Ali is a rubbish Test batsman.

Last but not the least . . .

Pakistan’s 2017 Champions Trophy win was a fluke.

Some I agree with but others not so much.

Interesting point about Afridi but I think he unerachieved given the talent he was blessed with. I do agree with [MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION] that he was a better test player than an LOI player.

Also disagree that YK was the worst player to score 10K runs - that dubious honor has to go to Chanderpaul or Cook (who were both too hit or miss for my liking).

Also - not necessarily agree that Warner is overrated. Early on in his career - he was labelled a T20 hack so I think he has come a long way from that. Batsman friendly rules in LOI along with flat pitches have definitely helped his cause but I think he has done well in all formats considered. It is only his atitude that has let him down...

Also think Haris will be a decent player for us but definitely not a world class player. He had the potential but his injuries and career mismanagement doomed him.

I would also argue that Sanga is better than Lara given Sanga's prowess in LOI and T20's.

Also disagree that Kapil was the greatest ever LOI all-rounder. I think that honor would go to Klusener, Kallis, Pollock, Jayasuriya, Cairns or Watson.

Interesting point you make about Faisal Iqbal - why do you think he eventually failed at international cricket?

 

[Suleiman]

Cook can still stake a claim to be an ATG. He’s a top 5 test player of the last 15 years.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Malcolm Marshall is overrated. Steyn and McGrath are better . He's only the 3rd greatest test bowler after these two.

BCCI cares more about test cricket than the hypocrites at the ECB..

Ashes are overrated. Cricket world cups are the biggest events in cricket.

Saeed ajmal was always a chucker.

Saeed Anwar was a MUCH better ODI batsman than Inzi while he played.

Cricket should not have more than 2 formats.

Bowlers (on average) are quicker now than they ever were. Bowlers of yesteryear are all trundlers by today's standards.

McGrath is the biggest match winner in the history of Australian cricket and perhaps world cricket. Possibly the greatest cricketer to play the game ahead of Bradman.

Asif was not quick enough for flat decks. (Although he was probably the best in helpful conditions)

Akhtar was right when he claimed that all Pakistani bowlers used to tamper

Ashwin > Saqlain in tests.

 

[Hedz]

Other T20 leagues do effect the IPL
After watching almost non stop T20 series from September/October onwards, it becomes an overworked format halfway through the IPL, causing some of us fans to lose interest and give up on the league

(P.s. no hate for the IPL, been a big fan and follower of the league since it’s inception)

 

[Ozymandiasza]

Bairstow is England's most gifted batsman, ever.

We'll let this one slide

 

[Mamoon]

Overrating Joe "50" Root and then stating Steyn is overrated. Sometimes I wonder if you're actually a comedy genius.

You can say what you want, this is my view. Steyn is an all-time great, but he is still overrated because I don’t think he is as good as McGrath, Wasim, Marshall, Ambrose, Hadlee, Lillee, Donald etc.

During his peak years, i.e. 2008 to 2014, South Africa had the strongest batting lineup in the world.

Moreover, his record against two very good batting teams of his era - Australia and England - is nothing special.

He was also an average ODI bowler, and got owned by Elliott of all batsman in arguably the most important ODI match South Africa have ever played.

Calling him the best fast bowler of all time - or one of the top three pacers ever - is definitely overrating him.

As far as Root is concerned, I think he is a brilliant batsman who will be unstoppable once he improves his conversion rate.

He is probably the only batsman in the world today who doesn’t struggle in any conditions and against any attack. He usually gets out due to his own undoing, the bowlers rarely get the better of him.

 

[Mamoon]

Some I agree with but others not so much.

Interesting point about Afridi but I think he unerachieved given the talent he was blessed with. I do agree with [MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION] that he was a better test player than an LOI player.

Also disagree that YK was the worst player to score 10K runs - that dubious honor has to go to Chanderpaul or Cook (who were both too hit or miss for my liking).

Also - not necessarily agree that Warner is overrated. Early on in his career - he was labelled a T20 hack so I think he has come a long way from that. Batsman friendly rules in LOI along with flat pitches have definitely helped his cause but I think he has done well in all formats considered. It is only his atitude that has let him down...

Also think Haris will be a decent player for us but definitely not a world class player. He had the potential but his injuries and career mismanagement doomed him.

I would also argue that Sanga is better than Lara given Sanga's prowess in LOI and T20's.

Also disagree that Kapil was the greatest ever LOI all-rounder. I think that honor would go to Klusener, Kallis, Pollock, Jayasuriya, Cairns or Watson.

Interesting point you make about Faisal Iqbal - why do you think he eventually failed at international cricket?

I think it was a combination of having a sense of entitlement as well as succumbing to the pressures of emulating the career of his uncle.

 

[Mamoon]

I would love to hear the rationale behind Kamran akmal.... I actually believe he is one of if not the worst batsman to ever play for us consistently in my memory. However he is an allrounder, but his keeping was undeniably atrocious measured by the sheer number of drops. Sure everyone does it but no one has dropped as many as kami. True, he was decent pre 06 and had the potential to be world class but this never materialised and he became absolutely terrible.

To add to this thread and keeping on that track - Kamran Akmal’s hundred against india after irfan Pathan had taken the hattrick in the first over is THE most overrated innings in the history of cricket. Spoken about as if zeus himself descended from the skies and played on an absolute minefield.

Kamran was a better batsman than any wicket-keeper we have ever had. He played some outstanding knocks early in his career, and the hundreds at Karachi and Mohali are the two greatest innings by a Pakistani wicket-keeper ever.

He batted all day on a day five Mohali pitch against a searing Kumble, and he followed it up with a counter-attacking century on a green pitch when Pakistan were 39-6. What was overrated about that innings?

Kamran had all the ingredients to be an all-time great player, but his poor mentality and inability to recover from disappointments got the better of him.

His decline started in the 2006 tour of England where he failed with both the bat and the gloves. He turned things around in 2009 where he top-scored for Pakistan in all formats and also kept well, but then the wheels well and truly came off in Australia, and that was pretty much the end of what could have been a glittering career.

 

[Ozymandiasza]

You can say what you want, this is my view. Steyn is an all-time great, but he is still overrated because I don’t think he is as good as McGrath, Wasim, Marshall, Ambrose, Hadlee, Lillee, Donald etc.

During his peak years, i.e. 2008 to 2014, South Africa had the strongest batting lineup in the world.

Moreover, his record against two very good batting teams of his era - Australia and England - is nothing special.

He was also an average ODI bowler, and got owned by Elliott of all batsman in arguably the most important ODI match South Africa have ever played.

Calling him the best fast bowler of all time - or one of the top three pacers ever - is definitely overrating him.

As far as Root is concerned, I think he is a brilliant batsman who will be unstoppable once he improves his conversion rate.

He is probably the only batsman in the world today who doesn’t struggle in any conditions and against any attack. He usually gets out due to his own undoing, the bowlers rarely get the better of him.

You're certainly entitled to any opinion on any subject you want. Unfortunately, we've had this conversation about your perceived bias against anything "South Africa".

I do, however, feel you're not considering the era Steyn played in. No bowler came close, I'm sad to say. I'm not referring to stats specifically, batsman actually feared him in tests.

I've seen him get dismantled by many batsmen in limited overs. Unfortunately, that's due to the batsman-centric era of cricket we're in. That, however, only reinforces my opinion about his skills and temperament. He wasn't particularly "smart", he was fierce.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Sarfraz will lead Pakistan to at least 1 world cup win.

Babar will end up as Pakistan's greatest batsman.

Haris will end as a 50+ average batsman in test cricket.

 

[Loralai]

Usman Khan is the best fast bowler in Pakistan and, fitness permitting, should be a permanent fixture in all formats.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Unpopular opinions on some other Pakistani players.

Shadab will end up as a better all rounder than 'superstar' Afridi.

Hardworking Faheem will end up as a better all rounder than Pandya.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

We'll let this one slide

Slide where?

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

1. Sehwag was a better test batsman and more of an impact player than his contemporaries when it comes to Indian batting

2. The leg-cutter of Venkatesh Prasad were probably one of the best bowling variety any bowler has ever had.

3. West Indies are just one batsman (Darren Bravo) short of becoming a really complete test team.

4. The 90's after Imran retired was the second worst period for Pakistani cricket after the terrible 60's and we need serious consideration of Justice Qayyum's report and not let a lot of those players run cricket

5. Stokes is not a test class all-rounder. He is not even half the bowler that Flintoff was and won't make it as a front line bowler in any top 6 cricketing nations.

 

[silentkiller187]

Misbah was pakistans best captain.

 

[Deewana]

Shadab is the best spin all-rounder currently, as an all round package better than shakib (zero impact man)

Bangladesh should be stripped off their test status

t20s shouldn't be played on international level

Hafeez is better than Malik

KL Rahul should open for India in ODIs instead of Rohit

Sri Lanka is the most boring side

Aus SA is a better rivalry than Ashes

Hasan Ali and Amir are the best limited overs bowling pair

Junaid should still be in the test side

Ireland shouldn't have been given test status now

 

[Suleiman]

Don’t see the hype behind Husain Talat

T20 cricket is the new hallmark of cricket not tests and I’m okay with that, excited even. The future without tests is not as bleak as people make it out to be.

 

[Abdul]

Misbah was pakistans best captain.

It's a fact.

 

[Ozymandiasza]

Slide where?

Tongue in cheek comment about his batting in yesterday's game.

7.2 short ball, Bairstow rocks on to the pull - and swipes it straight down the throat of deep square leg! Daft shot choice, and Australia have a third! They are amongst 'em, Richardson strikes now, and it doesn't say how the batsman got out in t'book 38/3

 

[The_Odd_One]

You can say what you want, this is my view. Steyn is an all-time great, but he is still overrated because I don’t think he is as good as McGrath, Wasim, Marshall, Ambrose, Hadlee, Lillee, Donald etc.

During his peak years, i.e. 2008 to 2014, South Africa had the strongest batting lineup in the world.

Moreover, his record against two very good batting teams of his era - Australia and England - is nothing special.

He was also an average ODI bowler, and got owned by Elliott of all batsman in arguably the most important ODI match South Africa have ever played.

Calling him the best fast bowler of all time - or one of the top three pacers ever - is definitely overrating him.

As far as Root is concerned, I think he is a brilliant batsman who will be unstoppable once he improves his conversion rate.

He is probably the only batsman in the world today who doesn’t struggle in any conditions and against any attack. He usually gets out due to his own undoing, the bowlers rarely get the better of him.

Steyn averages 29 against Australia and England. Wasim averages 28 against same teams despite bowling in a far bowler friendly era and a much weaker English team.

India was the 2nd best test team in Steyn's time. Against them he averages 21.53 overall and 21.38 at their home bowling to one of the strongest batting line ups in the history of cricket. Wasim against a weaker Indian batting lineup averages 28.86 overall and 27.70 at their home.

Even with your argument, Steyn is still better than Wasim in tests.

 

[Buffet]

You can say what you want, this is my view. Steyn is an all-time great, but he is still overrated because I don’t think he is as good as McGrath, Wasim, Marshall, Ambrose, Hadlee, Lillee, Donald etc.

He is better than many names you listed above. If you take all era's and look for 300+ wickets, he has the best SR( 41) among all bowlers with a career average of 22. That too in a period when substantially larger numbers of batsmen are averaging 50+.

 

[zarar]

Going to give my opinions on current Pakistan for now and if the thread gets interesting will talk about other teams and former players later:

Pakistan will atleast be semi finalists in the World Cup next year.

Within the next 2-3 years. Pakistan will be a fantastic side in ODI's and T20I's.

If Micky Arthur wants to be Pakistan's coach for the next 5 years. Give him a 5 year contract. Pakistan are very lucky to have him and should look to secure his services for as long as possible.

One of the main reasons why the most talented Pakistani players in the country today don't last long or fulfil their potential in International cricket is because of mentality. Majority Pakistan fans and media hype them up so much that they think they have cemented legendary status and then they stop working harder than they did to have made it in the first place.

Mohammed Amir is overrated. Ain't the same bowler he once was and never ever will be, He's still only in the ODI side because of the 2017 Champions Trophy Final performance and the fact that he has now played more than he initially started before his ban, Shows that. The excuse of he was out for 5 years to me is invalid now. He has had more than enough time to prove himself now and his place in the side must be questioned.

I feel as if Shadab Khan is a much better batsman than a bowler. Not saying he is a rubbish bowler either as he has all the attributes of a good leg spinner but to me his career prospects look better as a batsman.

Hasan Ali is currently a World class bowler but is just going through a purple patch which when it ends will result a massive decline in his performances and ultimately see him being discarded.

Shaheen Shah Afridi will become a very good bowler for Pakistan and is a special talent. He should be playing regularly soon and will be Pakistan's X factor in the World Cup next year.

Babar Azam and Haris Sohail should be Pakistan's Number 3 and 4 batsmen in ODI's.

 

[Syed1]

Sarfaraz is Pakistan's best captain since Imran Khan

 

[Ali_Pakistan]

Kohli is the better than Tendulkar.

Shadab will be a Pakistani great and perhaps can be an ATG.

Smith is the best batsman of this generation.

Fakhar to be the next Pakistan captain.