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[VIDEOS] Imran Khan is the greatest cricketer ever

Imran is the GOAT when it comes to self-promotion and propaganda.

He made sure that everything is about him. He created the illusion that the success of Wasim, Waqar, Inzamam etc. was all down to him and not because he was lucky that they were generational talents.

There were plenty of average players on his watch and he could not build their careers.

After captaining the 1992 World Cup win, he did not even give credit to his team. It was all about him and his hospital.

The Cornered Tigers t-shirt that he wore for the toss in the final was all about him and his image. It had nothing to do with the team.

His arrogance and narcissism is off the charts. It is in complete contrast to Kapil Dev who produced a far bigger cornered tigers moment 9 years before Imran did but he never milked it for personal gain and did not do any propaganda over it.

That is what you call a selfless leader who puts the team over himself.
 
Faiz1978 said:
Imran was match winner and reliable player when team needed him the most whereas Sachin used to get failed most of time on big events
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For this reason I would not even call Tendulkar the best Indian batsman. Gavaskar and Dravid were better in my view.
 
Romali_rotti said:
Imran was a deer in front of headlights in the WI facing the great WI bowlers of the 80s, check his batting avg there, DEV has a 100 and 98 odd at over 100 strike rate against them in WI a feat no other batsmen have achieved at that strike rate in a test match.. Dev used to smack around the great WI bowlers of the 80s in their backyard like they were club bowlers..... DEV's 100 against SA in SA facing Donald and co when rest of the Indian batting folded towards the end of his career showed how talented he was..

Imran was an honest trier with limited batting ability that padded up his batting stats with a lot of not outs, the difference in batting strike rate between DEV & Imran tells the story...
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Kapil really should have scored more than eight test hundred with his ability, especially playing half his matches on dead tracks in India. Had he throttled back a bit from an astonishing 80 / 100 batting rate to the still excellent 60 achieved by Botham, there is no knowing what he could have achieved.

Imran was hampered in batting by a childhood injury - he could not close his left hand fully and had to have several rubber sleeves on the top of his bat handle to compensate. Six test hundreds was about right for his ability.

Botham had to play half his tests in England where batting is difficult. He didn’t have the work ethic though and lost fitness. He had fourteen test hundreds but it should have been many more. After his bowling declined he could have made himself into a tight fourth seamer (see his late-career renaissance in ODIs) and a solid #5 batter. He and Kapil wasted their talents really, while Imran maximised his.
 
Robert said:
For this reason I would not even call Tendulkar the best Indian batsman. Gavaskar and Dravid were better in my view.
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Yup, plus Dravid has charisma and a personality which makes him a better cricketer than Tendulkar the batsman.

I still remember how 11/12 series in England was all about Tendulkar's 100th 100, but it was Dravid who scored 3 100s in that series.
 
We have to remember that people like Mamoon never watched Imran play (was born in the same year when IK retired) thus their perception of Imran is purley based on Imran the politican. Context is everything.
 
Robert said:
Kapil really should have scored more than eight test hundred with his ability, especially playing half his matches on dead tracks in India. Had he throttled back a bit from an astonishing 80 / 100 batting rate to the still excellent 60 achieved by Botham, there is no knowing what he could have achieved.

Imran was hampered in batting by a childhood injury - he could not close his left hand fully and had to have several rubber sleeves on the top of his bat handle to compensate. Six test hundreds was about right for his ability.

Botham had to play half his tests in England where batting is difficult. He didn’t have the work ethic though and lost fitness. He had fourteen test hundreds but it should have been many more. After his bowling declined he could have made himself into a tight fourth seamer (see his late-career renaissance in ODIs) and a solid #5 batter. He and Kapil wasted their talents really, while Imran maximised his.
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Agreed with your post...

Dev had immense ability as a batsman, I heard Gavaskar in an interview say that he had not seen a batsmen with more natural ability as a batter than Kapil DEV. He also frustratingly said someone of Kapil's batting ability should finish their career with 10K runs, however he will never achieve it because of the lack of discipline and was the most frustrating cricketer he has played with during his career.

Dev for some reason always felt more glory in bowling where his ability was not as good as his batting, Dev's batting exploits in the WI against their all time great bowlers showed his ability to the whole world of what he had. I can imagine Viv Richards fielding and wondering this is some amazing hitting when he scored that 100 at a strike rate of nearly a 100 in WI (Even in today's standard for a test match that would be quite a feat).. However unfortunately for India, Dev didn't care about his batting and did what he wanted not what he was capable of doing...
 
People who rate Dravid above Sachin also tend to rate Rahane/Pujara above Kohli, especially on PP. Wonder what is the common thread?

Dravid wasn't an ODI player and not even the best number 3 test batsman from India in the last 25 years. That honour goes to Pujara.
 
Ravi Shastri - Imran Khan is one of the greatest captains and players the game has seen.

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Erstwhile India's swashbuckling batsman, popular commentator and incumbent India's cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri launched his book 'Stargazing: The players in my life in which he rated Imran Khan as one of the greatest players to play the sport.

He said Imran Khan's contemporaries acknowledged his exceptional abilities and applauded his tactical acumen as a captain. Shastri said Imran's record speaks for himself.

“Imran Khan is one of the greatest captains and players the game has seen. Why I hold this view hardly needs qualification. His records speak of itself and if at all further validation is necessary, it comes from the experience of those who played with or against him,” wrote Shastri in his book.

Shastri shared when he first saw Imran on television during the India tour of Pakistan in 1978. He said he was at Wankhede Stadium to see Imran play when Pakistan toured India the following season.

"When India toured Pakistan. He was then making a mark as one of the best all-rounders in cricket after a rather slow start to his career,” wrote Shastri.

Ravi Shastri was in awe of Imran's ability to generate prodigious lateral movement which he remembers created a lot of difficulties for the batsmen.

“When Pakistan came to India the next season, I made sure to get a place in the North Stand at the Wankhede Stadium. Imran’s strength was his remarkable control over swing and reverse swing. The steeply curving late swingers or ‘in-dippers’ as they were called then, made life hellish for batsmen,” wrote Shastri in his book.

The 59-year-old recalled his first meeting with Pakistan's 1992 World-Cup winning captain. It was in 1987 when Shastri was representing the U-25 team and he met Imran who joined in late as he was stuck in traffic and Shastri protested to umpires after Imran tried to bowl as soon as he took the field.

Shastri remembered how Imran recommended Wasim Akram to bowl a snorter of a bumper to him. The ex-India batter went as far as to say that Imran was one of the four great all-rounders of his era.

“Among the four great all-rounders of that era, Imran was the best batsman, technically and temperamentally , according to the situation demanded,” said Shastri.

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https://cricwick.net/news/8980/Imra...age+-+Social+fb+&+twitter+-+Rvel+-+engagement
 
Mamoon said:
“He only had batting” as if that is not good enough.

Tendulkar is the most iconic batsman the game of cricket has ever seen. No batsman dead or alive holds more records than him. His longevity is unmatched - he dominated three generations of bowlers.

He started with bashing Sir Richard Hadlee at 16 and ended with dominating Steyn at 37.

I would definitely put him above Imran as a cricketer.

It doesn’t matter whether he was a poor captain or not. What he achieved with the bat alone and the impact that he had on the game of cricket was more than enough.
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It’s not good enough - even if you want to rate him as a batsman alone, he wasn’t even the best of his contemporaries and that too in his own team! Give me something more. You talk about records, he’s made the most test runs? Wow! Another record is he’s played the most number of games too! His batting was just mechanical, he never showed any great tactical acumen even as a batsman. Just made runs - not much thought to the final outcome. A very bland cricketer with zero personality

Imran was one of the best bowlers in history. He was one of the greatest captains in history. We haven’t even got to his batting yet.

Imran is on a much much higher level than Tendulkar as a cricketer.

Surely you can think of other Indian cricketers who a better argument can be made for.
 
Swashbuckler said:
People who rate Dravid above Sachin also tend to rate Rahane/Pujara above Kohli, especially on PP. Wonder what is the common thread?

Dravid wasn't an ODI player and not even the best number 3 test batsman from India in the last 25 years. That honour goes to Pujara.
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Once again this hero worship of Tendulkar defeats your own purpose. I just don’t understand Indian fans - there are so many other Indian cricketers who you can use in this category. Gavasker, Dravid, Kapil, Dhoni, Kohli….even Ganguly. But you’re just stuck on Tendulkar.

A serious question to Indian fans? Why?
 
TheSultan said:
Once again this hero worship of Tendulkar defeats your own purpose. I just don’t understand Indian fans - there are so many other Indian cricketers who you can use in this category. Gavasker, Dravid, Kapil, Dhoni, Kohli….even Ganguly. But you’re just stuck on Tendulkar.

A serious question to Indian fans? Why?
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Only Gavaskar is in the same category, that too only in tests. Sachin's batting in the toughest era of batting (90s) puts him way above Dravid and Kohli.

Kapil maybe in ODIs, maybe Kohli if he dominates one World Cup. Sachin was top scorer in 1996 and 2003 WCs, second highest in 2011 as a 37 year old.

Dhoni is a nobody, Pant has already surpassed him.

Ganguly lol.
 
While unquestionably a great player, Imran's record is a tad deceptive. Over the last 3 years of his career he was increasingly taking on the role of batsman who bowls a few handy overs (the same can be said for Keith Miller tbh). His career record up to the WI tour of 1988 reads 334 wickets @ 22 and 2799 runs @ 32. Still an absolutely outstanding record that has him in the mix for the greatest bowling all-rounder of all time (and clearly ahead of his 80's rival Hadlee), but the fact that he finished 1/5th of his innings not out and scored only 5 career hundreds does tell its own story when Botham (with a significantly lower career average) hit 14.
 
Bahnz said:
While unquestionably a great player, Imran's record is a tad deceptive. Over the last 3 years of his career he was increasingly taking on the role of batsman who bowls a few handy overs (the same can be said for Keith Miller tbh). His career record up to the WI tour of 1988 reads 334 wickets @ 22 and 2799 runs @ 32. Still an absolutely outstanding record that has him in the mix for the greatest bowling all-rounder of all time (and clearly ahead of his 80's rival Hadlee), but the fact that he finished 1/5th of his innings not out and scored only 5 career hundreds does tell its own story when Botham (with a significantly lower career average) hit 14.
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This is all valid. After age 35 Imran didn’t bowl much, leaving it to his Wasim and his Waqar though he did keep nipping out wickets.

And yes, his batting average is somewhat inflated artificially. Six test centuries is about right for his ability level, albeit in in a tough era (Lillee, Best Indies, Hadlee, Willis).
 
TheSultan said:
It’s not good enough - even if you want to rate him as a batsman alone, he wasn’t even the best of his contemporaries and that too in his own team! Give me something more. You talk about records, he’s made the most test runs? Wow! Another record is he’s played the most number of games too! His batting was just mechanical, he never showed any great tactical acumen even as a batsman. Just made runs - not much thought to the final outcome. A very bland cricketer with zero personality

Imran was one of the best bowlers in history. He was one of the greatest captains in history. We haven’t even got to his batting yet.

Imran is on a much much higher level than Tendulkar as a cricketer.

Surely you can think of other Indian cricketers who a better argument can be made for.
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I love how Pakistani fans dismiss longevity as if it means nothing. Everyone would love to play 200 Tests, but they are not good enough to do so.

Tendulkar was extraordinary - he was Test class at 16 - an age where 99% of the batsmen are barely good enough for domestic cricket.

By 23-24, he was already recognized as one of the greatest ever, and if other batsmen had the skill level and the ability to be as good as Tendulkar was in his teens and early twenties, they could have played 200 Tests and scored as many runs as he did.

The reality is that they weren’t good enough to do so, and Tendulkar deserves credit and recognition for it.

He also adjusted his playing style after the tennis elbow injury in 1998-1999 and partly because of the emergence of Sehwag, but he remained an elite batsmen.

You find his technique mechanical, but I would say it was technical perfection. Tendulkar is the model batsman - the most iconic player to ever wield a cricket bat.
 
Lol even Rahul Dravid won’t put himself over Sachin. That’s understandable though it’s kind of like the mad respect Indians have for Misbah over say someone like Miandad.
 
TheSultan said:
A serious question to Indian fans? Why?
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Serious answer

A 16 year old prodigy who had a 24 year long career.

Highest run getter in the world and a string of batting records that may stand the test of time

I won’t even count the 3 man of the matches vs Pakistan in World Cup encounters because while there are some Pakistan players who had long careers based on a couple of fine knocks/spells vs india, it doesn’t work the same way in India.

Through the 90’s Indian economy was booming, there was a cable revolution happening and people were watching more cricket than ever.

In fact there was a lot of cricket happening especially odi cricket. During that time Indian team wasn’t the strongest and Sachin was the only match winner in the side that the opposition cared about bar Kumble maybe ( only on Indian pitches), so people who grew up in that generation have fond memories.

Sachin has that defining knock against every opposition be it Pakistan,Australia,SA or even Zimbabwe.

Forget batting, Sachin won us games with the ball a few times from hopeless situations, I have seen him run through Pakistan and Australian line ups on a few occasions and that magical hero cup over where he defended 4-5 runs vs South Africa.

In fact sachin became larger than life after the 2000’s match fixing scandal. Every SC big name was dragged through mud be it Kapil Dev, Md.Azharuddin, Salim Malik, Wasim Akram and most of the 90’s Pakistan team but Sachin came out clean from that. That just boosted his legacy even more.


I can go on and on

Only on a Pakistani cricket forum do I hear a question like what’s so special about Sachin while Pakistan’s biggest star of the 90’s and 2000’s was Shahid Afridi who in a cricketing context would be called a bits and pieces cricketer at best. I am not denying he wasn’t exciting and entertaining to watch but it is what it is.

There is one thing sachin not being ones favorite cricketer or not liking him for being Indian but one must be thick to question Sachin’s legacy as one of the biggest names ever to play the game.
 
Last Monetarist said:
The three best innings by Dravid that I saw:

1. 180 vs Australia - Kolkata
2. 233 vs Australia - Adelaide
3. 270 vs Pakistan - Rawalpindi
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Are those the once you saw or are you giving me a list of Rahul Dravid’s best knocks?

For example I was only following the score for the most part in all those innings, there was this 30 ball 50 RD made in England in a odi game, I would have listed that as a personal favorite even though it was a obscure game.

Similarly there was his 100 at the oval in his final series, that was a monumental knock. I watched that start to end.

I am speaking more in that context.
 
Local.Dada said:
Are those the once you saw or are you giving me a list of Rahul Dravid’s best knocks?

For example I was only following the score for the most part in all those innings, there was this 30 ball 50 RD made in England in a odi game, I would have listed that as a personal favorite even though it was a obscure game.

Similarly there was his 100 at the oval in his final series, that was a monumental knock. I watched that start to end.

I am speaking more in that context.
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The ones I saw ball-by-ball.
 
Mamoon said:
I love how Pakistani fans dismiss longevity as if it means nothing. Everyone would love to play 200 Tests, but they are not good enough to do so.

Tendulkar was extraordinary - he was Test class at 16 - an age where 99% of the batsmen are barely good enough for domestic cricket.

By 23-24, he was already recognized as one of the greatest ever, and if other batsmen had the skill level and the ability to be as good as Tendulkar was in his teens and early twenties, they could have played 200 Tests and scored as many runs as he did.

The reality is that they weren’t good enough to do so, and Tendulkar deserves credit and recognition for it.

He also adjusted his playing style after the tennis elbow injury in 1998-1999 and partly because of the emergence of Sehwag, but he remained an elite batsmen.

You find his technique mechanical, but I would say it was technical perfection. Tendulkar is the model batsman - the most iconic player to ever wield a cricket bat.
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Longevity - who cares really?

Lara could have easily carried on but he wasn’t after statistics
Viv could have carried on but he wasn’t after records.
Shane Warne, Mcgrath etc could have carried on..
So many players could have carried on - they were physically able. It’s just that they were grown ups about it and decided they had achieved enough and let the younger generation have a go. Tendulkar just chased and chased statistics.

He still struggled to be statistically the best in any department apart from scoring the most runs and also playing the same matches.

As I said if trolling is the game, you can do better. Please try harder.
 
Swashbuckler said:
Only Gavaskar is in the same category, that too only in tests. Sachin's batting in the toughest era of batting (90s) puts him way above Dravid and Kohli.

Kapil maybe in ODIs, maybe Kohli if he dominates one World Cup. Sachin was top scorer in 1996 and 2003 WCs, second highest in 2011 as a 37 year old.

Dhoni is a nobody, Pant has already surpassed him.

Ganguly lol.
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Dravid played in the 90s too! Dravid contributed during India’s best victories over Aus whereas sachin was nowhere to be seen. And let’s be honest, the 90s was not necessarily the toughest era. The 70s/80s had a ridiculous amount of talent in the fast bowling department too.

Top scorer in a World Cup doesn’t mean much - the other top scorers have been Martin Crowe, Guptill, Rohit Sharma! Funnily enough Dravid was the top scorer in the 1999 World Cup. Strange how Indians never mention that?

Kapil Dev as a “cricketer” was streets ahead of Tendulkar.

Dhoni and Ganguly made massive differences to India as a team. I really don’t understand why Indians would dismiss them so easily
 
Local.Dada said:
Serious answer

A 16 year old prodigy who had a 24 year long career.

Highest run getter in the world and a string of batting records that may stand the test of time

I won’t even count the 3 man of the matches vs Pakistan in World Cup encounters because while there are some Pakistan players who had long careers based on a couple of fine knocks/spells vs india, it doesn’t work the same way in India.

Through the 90’s Indian economy was booming, there was a cable revolution happening and people were watching more cricket than ever.

In fact there was a lot of cricket happening especially odi cricket. During that time Indian team wasn’t the strongest and Sachin was the only match winner in the side that the opposition cared about bar Kumble maybe ( only on Indian pitches), so people who grew up in that generation have fond memories.

Sachin has that defining knock against every opposition be it Pakistan,Australia,SA or even Zimbabwe.

Forget batting, Sachin won us games with the ball a few times from hopeless situations, I have seen him run through Pakistan and Australian line ups on a few occasions and that magical hero cup over where he defended 4-5 runs vs South Africa.

In fact sachin became larger than life after the 2000’s match fixing scandal. Every SC big name was dragged through mud be it Kapil Dev, Md.Azharuddin, Salim Malik, Wasim Akram and most of the 90’s Pakistan team but Sachin came out clean from that. That just boosted his legacy even more.


I can go on and on

Only on a Pakistani cricket forum do I hear a question like what’s so special about Sachin while Pakistan’s biggest star of the 90’s and 2000’s was Shahid Afridi who in a cricketing context would be called a bits and pieces cricketer at best. I am not denying he wasn’t exciting and entertaining to watch but it is what it is.

There is one thing sachin not being ones favorite cricketer or not liking him for being Indian but one must be thick to question Sachin’s legacy as one of the biggest names ever to play the game.
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Are you serious? Pakistans biggest star in the 1990s and 2000s was afridi?

Wasim Akram says hello, so does Waqar and shoaib akhtar and saeed anwar and Inzi and yousuf!
 
TheSultan said:
Longevity - who cares really?

Lara could have easily carried on but he wasn’t after statistics
Viv could have carried on but he wasn’t after records.
Shane Warne, Mcgrath etc could have carried on..
So many players could have carried on - they were physically able. It’s just that they were grown ups about it and decided they had achieved enough and let the younger generation have a go. Tendulkar just chased and chased statistics.

He still struggled to be statistically the best in any department apart from scoring the most runs and also playing the same matches.

As I said if trolling is the game, you can do better. Please try harder.
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Tendulkar retired at 39.

Lara retired at 37.

Warne retired at 38.

Viv retired at 39.

McGrath at 37.

Tendulkar did not overstay; he did not drag his career. He retired at roughly the same age as everyone else.

The only Tendulkar had a longer career than all of them is because he was much better than all of them at a very young age.

None of the legends that you mentioned were half as good as 16 as Tendulkar was, and that is why they could not break into Test cricket.

If they did, they could have played for as long as Tendulkar did and achieved as many records as he was. However, as a said earlier, they weren’t good enough to do - in fact no one, and this is what makes Tendulkar extraordinary.

I think you are capable of making an intelligent argument but you are not helping your case at all. You almost lost me at “who cares really”.
 
Mamoon said:
Tendulkar retired at 39.

Lara retired at 37.

Warne retired at 38.

Viv retired at 39.

McGrath at 37.

Tendulkar did not overstay; he did not drag his career. He retired at roughly the same age as everyone else.

The only Tendulkar had a longer career than all of them is because he was much better than all of them at a very young age.

None of the legends that you mentioned were half as good as 16 as Tendulkar was, and that is why they could not break into Test cricket.

If they did, they could have played for as long as Tendulkar did and achieved as many records as he was. However, as a said earlier, they weren’t good enough to do - in fact no one, and this is what makes Tendulkar extraordinary.

I think you are capable of making an intelligent argument but you are not helping your case at all. You almost lost me at “who cares really”.
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When did IK retire? Was he good enough in his teens or useless?
 
On serious note, it's far more harder to play brilliantly for 150 tests than 80 tests.

You have to be great player very early and you have to great player very late in your career as well. SRT was rank 1 tests batsman at 21 and he was again rank 1 in late 30s. That's very hard to do.

Good case for best Asian cricketer can be made for Murali, SRT and IK. All 3 were brilliant.
 
Buffet said:
When did IK retire? Was he good enough in his teens or useless?
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Imran retired at 39 and he extended his career by a year on the request of the government of Pakistan so that he could captain the team in the 1992 World Cup. He was finished as a bowler by then.

He was not international material in his teens. It was until 24-25 when he hit his stride and established himself as a world class player.

If he was good enough in his teens like Tendulkar, he would have taken 500+ Test wickets.
 
Mamoon said:
Imran retired at 39 and he extended his career by a year on the request of the government of Pakistan so that he could captain the team in the 1992 World Cup. He was finished as a bowler by then.

He was not international material in his teens. It was until 24-25 when he hit his stride and established himself as a world class player.

If he was good enough in his teens like Tendulkar, he would have taken 500+ Test wickets.
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I knew the answer. The question was in jest.
 
Buffet said:
I knew the answer. The question was in jest.
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People underestimate how difficult it is to be as good as Tendulkar was at such a young age. Longevity cannot be brushed aside. It is a huge deal.
 
Mamoon said:
Tendulkar retired at 39.

Lara retired at 37.

Warne retired at 38.

Viv retired at 39.

McGrath at 37.

Tendulkar did not overstay; he did not drag his career. He retired at roughly the same age as everyone else.

The only Tendulkar had a longer career than all of them is because he was much better than all of them at a very young age.

None of the legends that you mentioned were half as good as 16 as Tendulkar was, and that is why they could not break into Test cricket.

If they did, they could have played for as long as Tendulkar did and achieved as many records as he was. However, as a said earlier, they weren’t good enough to do - in fact no one, and this is what makes Tendulkar extraordinary.

I think you are capable of making an intelligent argument but you are not helping your case at all. You almost lost me at “who cares really”.
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Tendulkar was fantastic as a 16 year old. There’s no don’t about that. But really I’ll say it again - who cares? He didn’t win india anything in his teens.

Tendulkar was the king of useless runs. I actually don’t have any recollection of any defining innings by him - maybe the 98 vs pak in 2003 (after 14 years of international cricket).

Miandad debuted in his teens too - all his plaudits are for what he did on the pitch, not that he started his career so young. No one even remembers (nor should they) that he started test cricket in his teens. It’s what he achieved, what he stood for, his fighting qualities.

You’re making a useless argument because you literally have nothing else…

“ but but but……he was better than them in his teens…so there”

Laughable
 
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Mamoon said:
People underestimate how difficult it is to be as good as Tendulkar was at such a young age. Longevity cannot be brushed aside. It is a huge deal.
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You say longevity i say selfishness All tenda was interested in was stats and dragged out his career inexplicably in the end just so he could rack up numbers, 200 tests, 100 intl centuries, a home farewell etc etc

It was all about me me me Hed have been rated better if he played for the team than himself
 
Unfortunately for you all the great players rate him so high and mostly played against him, so call him whatever you want nobody cares.
And states do not generate on paper, but on cricket pitch.
 
Zaz said:
You say longevity i say selfishness All tenda was interested in was stats and dragged out his career inexplicably in the end just so he could rack up numbers, 200 tests, 100 intl centuries, a home farewell etc etc

It was all about me me me Hed have been rated better if he played for the team than himself
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I’m sure Pakistan would love to have a selfish player who plays for breaking records and scoring mountains of runs while not participating in groupings, mentoring youngsters the right way, staying away from unnecessary controversies.

Too bad there are too many match winning, dynamic selfless players in Pakistan
 
TheSultan said:
Tendulkar was fantastic as a 16 year old. There’s no don’t about that. But really I’ll say it again - who cares? He didn’t win india anything in his teens.

Tendulkar was the king of useless runs. I actually don’t have any recollection of any defining innings by him - maybe the 98 vs pak in 2003 (after 14 years of international cricket).
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One of the biggest games for India and Pakistan is when they play each other in the ODI WC.

In the very first encounter between these two in 1992, Tendulkar was the MoM.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...a-vs-pakistan-16th-match-65133/full-scorecard

From 1992 to 2011, the 5 times these countries met Tendulkar scored 54, 31, 45, 98 and 85. Anything but useless runs.
 
Local.Dada said:
I’m sure Pakistan would love to have a selfish player who plays for breaking records and scoring mountains of runs while not participating in groupings, mentoring youngsters the right way, staying away from unnecessary controversies.

Too bad there are too many match winning, dynamic selfless players in Pakistan
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Napa said:
One of the biggest games for India and Pakistan is when they play each other in the ODI WC.

In the very first encounter between these two in 1992, Tendulkar was the MoM.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...a-vs-pakistan-16th-match-65133/full-scorecard

From 1992 to 2011, the 5 times these countries met Tendulkar scored 54, 31, 45, 98 and 85. Anything but useless runs.
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Which makes a great BATSMAN - but not necessarily the greatest CRICKTER of all time.
The problem is, you can't differentiate between a great cricketer and a great batsman.
 
Colorblind Genius said:
Which makes a great BATSMAN - but not necessarily the greatest CRICKTER of all time.
The problem is, you can't differentiate between a great cricketer and a great batsman.
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What is the difference can you explain?

Sachin has inspired a generation of cricketers in India at least, too bad didn’t impress a lot of Pakistani cricketers. On top of that he has made BCCI a bucketloads of money, helped commercialize the game in India and has been a positive icon on Indian cricket.

In a way Sachin’s rise and becoming a brand made Indian cricket what it is today along with obviously a lot of other factors too but Sachin being one of the major factors.

Rest seem to be a case of sour grapes. Funnily that’s what the inner conscience says for most but yep its an online forum so go ahead say whatever to make yourself feel better but there aren’t too many more iconic players than Sachin Tendulkar in world cricket. Now indians won’t make him PM that’s probably a good thing so if that’s a benchmark then I am not too sure:
 
Zaz said:
You say longevity i say selfishness All tenda was interested in was stats and dragged out his career inexplicably in the end just so he could rack up numbers, 200 tests, 100 intl centuries, a home farewell etc etc

It was all about me me me Hed have been rated better if he played for the team than himself
Click to expand...

The anticlimatic 100th 100 was poetic justice really. They hyped and hyped it during the England 2011 series. Dravid the poor guy had to save India’s back side and give them some respectability while selfish sachin just chased that record. India got a complete thrashing in the series.

And then sachin carried on playing and got his so called 100th 100 vs a minnow. Poetic, beautiful and a microcosm of his career
 
loves_cricket said:
Unfortunately for you all the great players rate him so high and mostly played against him, so call him whatever you want nobody cares.
And states do not generate on paper, but on cricket pitch.
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Stats are paper stats unless you put a magnifying glass on them and give them some context. That is statistical analysis 101.

Unfortunately when you shine a light on sachin’s stats, he was just a paper tiger.
 
Napa said:
One of the biggest games for India and Pakistan is when they play each other in the ODI WC.

In the very first encounter between these two in 1992, Tendulkar was the MoM.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...a-vs-pakistan-16th-match-65133/full-scorecard

From 1992 to 2011, the 5 times these countries met Tendulkar scored 54, 31, 45, 98 and 85. Anything but useless runs.
Click to expand...

Again, let’s shine a light on these numbers.

54 in 92 - this was generally a poor match with both teams outdoing each other in how poor they were. 54 is never a match winning knock, they just gave him MoM because they had to pick someone.

31 in 96 - nothing great about that

45 in 99 - nothing great about that

98 in 03 - great innings albeit with razzi dropping a dolly early on

85 in 2011. Assisted by our fielders with 5 dropped catches and further assisted by the controversial drs manipulation
 
TheSultan said:
Again, let’s shine a light on these numbers.

54 in 92 - this was generally a poor match with both teams outdoing each other in how poor they were. 54 is never a match winning knock, they just gave him MoM because they had to pick someone.

31 in 96 - nothing great about that

45 in 99 - nothing great about that

98 in 03 - great innings albeit with razzi dropping a dolly early on

85 in 2011. Assisted by our fielders with 5 dropped catches and further assisted by the controversial drs manipulation
Click to expand...

You are rather desperate if you are going to start counting the number of lives a batsman had to "prove" he scored "useless" runs.

Also, 54 from 62 balls in an ODI many not seem like a big deal now, but back in 1992 the scores were much lower. India's total was 216, enough to beat Pakistan's 173. In such a low scoring match, 54 scored at a brisk pace was the difference between the teams and indeed worthy of the PotM award.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1952. Imran Khan, the greatest ever Pakistani cricketer was born in Lahore. A cricketer who inspired many, he captained Pakistan brilliantly, rounding off his career with the 1992 World Cup victory before entering politics & becoming Prime-Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/8ML9FLriai">pic.twitter.com/8ML9FLriai</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1445292819711680512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1989. Imran Khan took 3-47 and made 55 not out and Wasim Akram smashed his first ball for six as Pakistan beat West Indies by 4 wickets with 1 ball remaining in the Nehru Cup final in Kolkata <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/fd4TVBarvz">pic.twitter.com/fd4TVBarvz</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1455086731271811074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
MenInG said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1989. Imran Khan took 3-47 and made 55 not out and Wasim Akram smashed his first ball for six as Pakistan beat West Indies by 4 wickets with 1 ball remaining in the Nehru Cup final in Kolkata <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/fd4TVBarvz">pic.twitter.com/fd4TVBarvz</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1455086731271811074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Great match
Both are legendary cricketers. Hopefully we will have some players that will come close to their levels.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1982. Imran Khan at his best with 8-60 in the second innings as Pakistan beat India by an innings and 86 runs in Karachi <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/3rFY1ZUV5h">pic.twitter.com/3rFY1ZUV5h</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1475376219738841093?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1992. The last day of one of the longest and most successful Test careers in history which began in 1971. Imran Khan took 362 Test wickets, including 40 (a record for Pakistan) against India in 1982-83, and hit six Test centuries <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/W8L83Xu2bn">pic.twitter.com/W8L83Xu2bn</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1479366558736658432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
I think both Imran and Sobers should make an all time Test XI outside of Asia. Imran is the perfect pace bowling all rounder and Sobers is the perfect pace bowling batsman.

1. Batsman
2. Batsman
3. Batsman
4. Batsman
5. Batsman
6. WK/Batsman
7. Sobers
8. Imran
9. Spinner
10. Fast bowler
11. Fast bowler

The Wisden had both of them in the all time test xi according to ICC rankings.
 
-Imran- said:
I think both Imran and Sobers should make an all time Test XI outside of Asia. Imran is the perfect pace bowling all rounder and Sobers is the perfect pace bowling batsman.

1. Batsman
2. Batsman
3. Batsman
4. Batsman
5. Batsman
6. WK/Batsman
7. Sobers
8. Imran
9. Spinner
10. Fast bowler
11. Fast bowler

The Wisden had both of them in the all time test xi according to ICC rankings.
Click to expand...

You’re putting a bloke with a test average of 58 at #7?
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1982. Imran Khan finished with match figures of 14-116 including a brilliant caught and bowled, as Sri Lanka were beaten by an innings and 102 runs in Lahore <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/4lPe42xkGT">pic.twitter.com/4lPe42xkGT</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1507973698527051776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Why can't Pakistan produce any all rounders like the Great Imran Khan?

1) Fluent in English
2) Oxford Grad
3) Motivational Quotes
4) One of the best all rounders during his time
5) Gives it to the opposition
6) Never suffered from Inferiority complex like the current lot

It has been 30 years and yet haven't seen a single Inspiring leader from Pakistan since Imran Khan.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1987. Imran Khan became the first Pakistani to take 300 wickets in Tests. Imran's 300th wicket was of Jack Richards, finishing with figures of 7 for 40 in the 2nd innings & 10 wickets in the match. Pakistan won the match by an innings & 18 runs <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/ylrXQnmUqQ">pic.twitter.com/ylrXQnmUqQ</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1543864071375798274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1987. Pakistan beat England by an innings and 18 runs at Headingley. Imran Khan was in brilliant form once again, finishing with match figures of 10-77 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/Vy2NGYtofC">pic.twitter.com/Vy2NGYtofC</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1544574001070149633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
He has the most beautiful bowling action in all of world cricket.

Stunning considering he had the ugliest action when he started.

Everything about Imran is continuous, metronomic improvement, bucking the odds at will and never stopping to look down at any point. Just up and up.

Once in a generation cricketer - the greatest of all time.
 
Corridor of Uncertainty said:
He has the most beautiful bowling action in all of world cricket.

Stunning considering he had the ugliest action when he started.

Everything about Imran is continuous, metronomic improvement, bucking the odds at will and never stopping to look down at any point. Just up and up.

Once in a generation cricketer - the greatest of all time.
Click to expand...

Agreed one of the greatest cricketer ever and comfortably the greatest from SC.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1952. The legend Imran Khan was born in Lahore. Undoubtedly he was the greatest ever Pakistani cricketer. He captained Pakistan brilliantly, rounding off his career with the 1992 World Cup victory before entering politics <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/ik0ymoi4YH">pic.twitter.com/ik0ymoi4YH</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1577564303628156929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1982. Imran Khan's 8 for 60 wrecked India's second innings to give Pakistan their then-biggest Test win against India - by an innings and 86 runs in Karachi. Imran finished with match figures of 11 for 79, which took him past 200 wickets in Tests <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/1wKsvhkzgI">pic.twitter.com/1wKsvhkzgI</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1607663220449316866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
MenInG said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1992. The last day of one of the longest and most successful Test careers in history which began in 1971. Imran Khan took 362 Test wickets, including 40 (a record for Pakistan) against India in 1982-83, and hit six Test centuries <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/W8L83Xu2bn">pic.twitter.com/W8L83Xu2bn</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1479366558736658432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Click to expand...

What a career and what a captain.
 
Happy Birthday!

P.S. Reminds me of some Indian fans in another forum claiming how Kapil Dev is a better bowler than every Pakistani bowler, bar Wasim Akram 😆😆
 
One of the great cricketer but yeah he is the greatest captain for sure!
 
Last edited:
1992 World Cup-winning captain

Most successful captain of Pakistan with 89 Wins

7500+ international career runs

500+ international wickets

Happy birthday to one of the greatest all-rounders, a captain who inspired generations with charisma and a never-give-up attitude, The Great, Imran Khan.
 
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