Was Wasim Bari Pakistan's best wicket-keeper?

[MenInG]

Happy Birthday to him.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

I saw him wicket keep and he was very impressive.

Global
Pakistanis have always been caught up in the hype of Bari as the best in business. However, despite being involved in cricket for a long time, I have never seen him mentioned above his contemporaries - Knott, Marsh etc. So I am inclined to think he was very good but not the best.

Pakistan

How do you compare Bari with Rashid Latif, Imtiaz, Dalpat etc? Can't just be stats.

 

[Ahmad Shah]

Best Pakistani wicketkeeper batsman of all time is Sarfraz

 

[Junaids]

In terms of catching, he was slightly more reliable than Rashid Latif.

The problem was that he was a Certified Number 11 batsman. Absolutely dreadful with the bat, when contemporaries like Knott and Marsh were very good.

 

[Extra_Cover]

Watching the PSL recently and other domestic cups its remarkably clear that Rizwan is hands down the best wicket keeper in Pakistan currently.

This guy is supremely agile, attentive and has got great responses.

When Sarfraz retires from test which might be in couple of years time (keeping in mind his fitness levels and pressures from playing all formats), I would ideally like Rizwan to replace him. Rizwan can be a good long term solution to Pakistan keeping woes for tests.

 

[moghul]

In those days, some people thought he was all time best keeper. Might not be the best ever but certainly one of the best ever. Unlike March and Knott, he was not the a good batsman, just pure , natural and specialist keeper. I never heard or saw him dropping even a 1/2 chance.

 

[bujhee kom]

As a pure wk, yes.
As a wkt-bat it must be Sarfraz.

 

[HuzaifaE]

Watching the PSL recently and other domestic cups its remarkably clear that Rizwan is hands down the best wicket keeper in Pakistan currently.

This guy is supremely agile, attentive and has got great responses.

When Sarfraz retires from test which might be in couple of years time (keeping in mind his fitness levels and pressures from playing all formats), I would ideally like Rizwan to replace him. Rizwan can be a good long term solution to Pakistan keeping woes for tests.

Rizwan in the field is far more reliable than Rizwan with the gloves, his athleticism does NOT transfer completely into a keeper of corresponding quality compared to him as a regular fielder.

 

[big_gamer007]

Good for his era no doubt but wouldn’t last 1 day in modern era.. In last 30 odd years the thing that has improved the most is the role of a keeper.. From just being good with gloves now they are more of a batsmen than keeper..

 

[Faiz_Ahmad]

But he is flop proven batsman

 

[sshakir411]

Saw only a few old games of Bari during the end of his career so not sure how he was. Barring him, I think Rashid and then Rizwan are the best glove men from Pakistan. Both have good reach and take the ball cleanly.

 

[Khan12]

His stats are decent for no 11

 

[Bilal7]

As a pure wicket-keeper, he was one of the best ever. Give him the batting prowess of someone like Umar Akmal and that is a fantastic player right there.

 

[Gubol123]

he was a pretty awful batsman, but a reliable keeper. I don't think he was the best as a whole package but close to top from Pakistan if you consider only his wicket keeping skills

 

[Hasan123]

High quality keeper.

 

[moghul]

Agree with many expert here. He would not last much in modern day cricket, due to being an awful batsman, but as a keeper, no one in Pakistan comes closer and again, one of the ATG keeper. It seemed as he knew ahead of the time where the ball would end up. I have seen him taking catches in front of 2nd slip.

 

[charlie007]

Best Pakistani keeper by a long shot! The old timers would recall him taking horizontal-to-the-ground catches in front of the first slip regularly on Imran/Sarfraz bowling. And you would not see him getting deceived by Qadir's googlies - he was as good as spotting googlies as the Indians (not so much the Englishmen lol) were facing him. Top keeper!
Those were the days of specialists.

 

[waleed88]

Sarfraz Ahmed betters him

 

[MenInG]

Think in Bari's time, there was not much expected from a 'keeper as a batsman. His job was to keep and take those fantastic catches etc. Its only in recent times, that the 'keeper is an essential part of the batting lineup

 

[charlie007]

Think in Bari's time, there was not much expected from a 'keeper as a batsman. His job was to keep and take those fantastic catches etc. Its only in recent times, that the 'keeper is an essential part of the batting lineup

Not expectation as much, but hope definitely. The contemporary keepers were quite decent during those times as well. Bob Taylor, Kirmani, Dujon etc. were all superb glovemen and pretty decent batters.
If it weren't for Kirmani holding the fort with Kapil during his 175* vs Zimbabwe in WC 83 after slumping 17/5, India very likely would have been knocked out of the competition.

 

[Justcrazy]

I rate Rashid latif slightly higher , he was more athletic.

 

[The_Odd_One]

I will go for Latif.

Latif could do everything that Bari could but he was more athletic and had a far better reach.

 

[PakLFC]

From old footage Saleem Yousuf was a good one as well. Anil Dalpat wasn't given a proper chance in the side.

 

[Bewal Express]

From old footage Saleem Yousuf was a good one as well. Anil Dalpat wasn't given a proper chance in the side.

Saleem Yousef wasnt good but slightly better than Dalpat, who was awful. But neither was any good. Moin Khan was also terrible but Rashid was generally good. Safraz is pretty average and lazy. Out of the ones i have seen but didnt have much of a career, Atiq u Zaman looked one of the better ones.

 

[PakLFC]

Saleem Yousef wasnt good but slightly better than Dalpat, who was awful. But neither was any good. Moin Khan was also terrible but Rashid was generally good. Safraz is pretty average and lazy. Out of the ones i have seen but didnt have much of a career, Atiq u Zaman looked one of the better ones.

Many keepers don't get a fair chance to impress. From what I've seen Yousuf and Dalpat may not be all time greats but certainly not the worst either. That tag will always belong to the awful and terrible Kamran Akmal. Zulqarnain was another one, don't remember him dropping many either.

 

[Bewal Express]

Many keepers don't get a fair chance to impress. From what I've seen Yousuf and Dalpat may not be all time greats but certainly not the worst either. That tag will always belong to the awful and terrible Kamran Akmal. Zulqarnain was another one, don't remember him dropping many either.

The bits i saw of both Yousef and Dalpat left a lasting impression of mediocrity. At least Yousef was a decent bat. Kami before his injury 2006 was actually quite decent but after that he was shocking.

 

[PakLFC]

The bits i saw of both Yousef and Dalpat left a lasting impression of mediocrity. At least Yousef was a decent bat. Kami before his injury 2006 was actually quite decent but after that he was shocking.

To me a mediocre or poor keeper is one who drops many catches like Kamran did. Don't think Anil or Yousaf had the buttery fingers that Kamran did.

 

[MenInG]

Arguably the best 'keeper Pakistan produced

Happy Birthday to Bari Sahib