Wasim Akram places Inzamam-ul-Haq ahead of Sachin Tendulkar in list of five batsmen

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wasim Akram's five best ever batsmen in order of ranking:<br><br>1. Sir Vivian Richards<br>2. Martin Crowe<br>3. Brian Lara<br>4. Inzamam-ul-Haq<br>5. Sachin Tendulkar<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1268871564495335435?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Wasim Akram ranks Sachin Tendulkar 5th in his list of top batsmen, gives reason for his choice

Former Pakistan captain and arguably the best left-arm paceman to have played the sport of cricket, Wasim Akram, has given his verdict on the top five batsmen that he either bowled to or played along side. Akram’s former teammate Basit Ali invited the legend on his YouTube show and gave him names of five batsmen and asked Akram to rank them in terms of their overall ability in Test cricket.

Among those Akram picked the legendary West Indies batsman and former captain Sir Vivian Richards on the top spot.

Viv Richards

“If you talk about a batsman with an unmatched technique, charisma and someone who had a huge impact on the game, it is Sir Vivian Richards. I have played against all the greats from mid-eighties to the nineties to the 2000s, but Viv Richards was a class apart,” Akram said.

Sachin Tendulkar

He then spoke about Indian batting talisman Sachin Tendulkar. Akram said he can’t talk much about Sachin as he and his fast bowling partner Waqar Younis didn’t get a chance to bowl at Sachin in Test cricket when they were at the peak of their respective careers.

“I am keeping Tendulkar aside from this list because we didn’t play Test cricket against him for 10 years. Waqar and I didn’t bowl to him for ten years in Test matches. He came to Pakistan in 1989 as a 16-year old and after that we played against him in 1999.

“I bowled at him at Sharjah in ODIs but Test cricket is different. No doubt he is one of the greats of the game but as a bowler I didn’t bowl to him in my peak and that is why it is difficult for me to judge him,” Akram opined.

Martin Crowe

He went on to pick former New Zealand captain, the late Martin Crowe, in the second spot.

“At number two I will put Martin Crowe because of his sheer technique. At a time when the world had no idea about how to face reverse swing, he played against us. It was a series where Waqar picked up 30 wickets in three matches and I picked up 16 wickets in one and a half matches as I got injured. Crowe had scored two centuries in that series.

“After the series I asked him how did you play me and Waqar so well. He said ‘I played you and Waqar on the front foot when you guys are bowling in swingers and I didn’t follow the ball that was swinging away and hence I didn’t edge it,” Akram said while remembering his conversation with Crowe.

Brian Lara

He went on to pick Brian Lara in the third spot and said that the West Indian was a difficult batsman to bowl at as he was never settled in the crease.

“At number three I will put ‘the prince’, Brian Lara. He was a quality batsman. He was very different and odd to bowl at. His bat would come from various directions. He was never settled and it was difficult to bowl to him,” Akram said.

Inzamam-ul-Haq

Akram picked his former teammate Inzamam-ul-Haq in the fourth spot and kept Sachin Tendulkar at number five. For both Inzamam and Sachin, Akram said that he hadn’t bowled to either in the longer format much and hence he won’t be able to judge them as a bowler.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...ason-for-it/story-kKzg0qRYSWeXe3ebPwwT1H.html

 

[Swashbuckler]

His opinion and we must respect that. I remember his interview a long time back where he placed Gavaskar at the top, with time maybe his thought process changed.

 

[Hasan123]

Inzi above Sachin is hilarious. Even this opinion of Wasim posted on Twitter was mocked by Pakistan fans lol.

 

[TeymurBlake]

At the end of the day its his opinion, regardless of what we think...

Despite the fact that Sachin should have been above Inzi.

 

[anikrc1]

It doesn't really matter. Holding said that the greatest batsman he have ever seen is Lawrence Rowe ahead of the likes of Richards or Chappell.

 

[Majid Khan]

As much as we all like Inzy as a batsman , but let’s be honest here - any half Decent bowler who bowled a full length had a decent chance of dismissing Inzamam by lbw early in his innings due to his sloppiness and lack of balance at tones early on - of course once he settled down and got through the early few overs then Inzy was a batsman of the class that even the best bowlers would struggle to beat through skill.

But now picture Wasim Akram at his peak bowling to Inzamam just having walked in, I reckon Wasim would get him out for LBW within a couple of overs on most days at will.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

Pretty good top 5.. regardless of the rankings one must say

 

[Kingpin786]

Shoaib akhtar also has mentioned many times that he found it most difficult to get inzi out

 

[MMHS]

Those are his five top picks & pretty good ones. I won’t look much into the positioning because he has put MC at two, fair enough.

 

[sshakir411]

Inzi above Sachin is hilarious. Even this opinion of Wasim posted on Twitter was mocked by Pakistan fans lol.

You clearly missed the part where it says “his top 5” not cricket’s top 5. Big difference here

 

[Bhaijaan]

Its his opinion and we must respect that.

Inzamam was a great player. Arguably the best ever against extreme pace bowling.

 

[Titan24]

Solid list. Probably based upon how well batsmen negotiated top bowlers in good form or maybe Wasim himself and how they stood up when the team was down. He would have watched a lot of Inzi as well in the nets and how he picked up his length and swing.

Its his opinion but definitely a top list. Its surprising that no Australian could make it as there were some ATGs in his time.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

In the end it is a subjective list / like all time XIs.
[MENTION=65183]freelance_cricketer[/MENTION] Inzi was lucky he never faced Atul Sharma

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Inzamam didn't have much of a boastful record against Australia and South Africa other than that all round against other teams he was a nightmare. Sachin though was just a batsman and Inzamam was captain as well as a batsman, remember how Sachin's batting flopped as he became captain? I reckon had Inzi just focused on his batting he'd have been right up there in the All Time Greats book.

 

[King_Kohli]

His opinion and we must respect that. I remember his interview a long time back where he placed Gavaskar at the top, with time maybe his thought process changed.

Agree

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Headline is really misleading.

Wasim Akram said he cannot rank Sachin as he never bowled to him between 1989-1999.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Inzamam didn't have much of a boastful record against Australia and South Africa other than that all round against other teams he was a nightmare. Sachin though was just a batsman and Inzamam was captain as well as a batsman, remember how Sachin's batting flopped as he became captain? I reckon had Inzi just focused on his batting he'd have been right up there in the All Time Greats book.

Exactly. Sachin had it quite easy. Off Sscyhin played for Pakistan he would have averaged 42 max, maybe 45. Inzamam in India without captaincy definitely a 57-59 average range player. Unbelievable talent, especially against pure pace.

 

[gazza619]

Headline is really misleading.

Wasim Akram said he cannot rank Sachin as he never bowled to him between 1989-1999.

That cant be true? Is it? Or are you referring to test cricket?

 

[Rana]

Besides 2003, I guess Wasim thought Sachin was in his pocket.

 

[Rana]

This is like Mohammad Amir rating Babar Azam above Kohli, whilst not rating Sharma at all.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

That cant be true? Is it? Or are you referring to test cricket?

Idk that’s what Wasim Akram said if you watch the video. Probably test cricket.

All he said was it wouldn’t be fair to rate Sachin since he never bowled to Sachin at his peak. So he just rated the other 4 and kept Sachin at 5 as “unrated”

 

[Hitman]

Inzamam didn't have much of a boastful record against Australia and South Africa other than that all round against other teams he was a nightmare. Sachin though was just a batsman and Inzamam was captain as well as a batsman, remember how Sachin's batting flopped as he became captain? I reckon had Inzi just focused on his batting he'd have been right up there in the All Time Greats book.

Wrong! He averages 52 odd with the bat as captain.

 

[Savak]

The reason why Imran was very impressed with Inzi is how easily he negotiated a prime Wasim and Waqar in the nets

 

[Buffet]

The reason why Imran was very impressed with Inzi is how easily he negotiated a prime Wasim and Waqar in the nets

So ATG agaisnt pace in net ?

IK should have given that tag because net is vastly different than actual match.

 

[Shazzam]

Always prefered Inzi over Sachin. Glad we got a masterclass in our team.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Besides 2003, I guess Wasim thought Sachin was in his pocket.

I have read Pakistani posters saying they regret Wasim never being able to dominate Sachin, in fact coping the stick quite a few times.

Also from memory, don't quite recall Wasim ever troubling Sachin.

If Tendulkar has to honestly mention list of bolwers that troubled him most, Wasim should not make top 20. But of course that doesn't make any difference to legacy of Wasim and vice versa.

 

[sshakir411]

I have read Pakistani posters saying they regret Wasim never being able to dominate Sachin, in fact coping the stick quite a few times.

Also from memory, don't quite recall Wasim ever troubling Sachin.

If Tendulkar has to honestly mention list of bolwers that troubled him most, Wasim should not make top 20. But of course that doesn't make any difference to legacy of Wasim and vice versa.

Hansie would be no. 1....

 

[Hitman]

Hansie would be no. 1....

He has mentioned it quite a few times that Hansie troubled him the most.

 

[Swashbuckler]

I have read Pakistani posters saying they regret Wasim never being able to dominate Sachin, in fact coping the stick quite a few times.

Also from memory, don't quite recall Wasim ever troubling Sachin.

If Tendulkar has to honestly mention list of bolwers that troubled him most, Wasim should not make top 20. But of course that doesn't make any difference to legacy of Wasim and vice versa.

Sachin did give plenty of stick to Wasim in ODIs in the 90s. It was often the lesser bowlers who would get him out.

 

[Swashbuckler]

The reason why Imran was very impressed with Inzi is how easily he negotiated a prime Wasim and Waqar in the nets

Nets is a different matter. Many have said on record that India's best batsman in nets is Dinesh Karthik, much better than Kohli, Rohit, Dhawan. One of the reporters (Lokpally or Nirmal Shekar) said a few years ago that if Karthik translates his nets batting to the real match people would forget Villiers in a jiffy. That is why the bugger keeps getting picked, much to the headache of Indian fans.

 

[NishanKonar]

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion. But this "Inzamam was great against extreme pace" was something I never understood. Never saw him bat that well regularly in Australia & South Africa

Brian Lara , Ponting & Sachin were far superior against pace bowling in these countries. Especially Lara - his record in Perth in 90s was exceptional

 

[Hitman]

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion. But this "Inzamam was great against extreme pace" was something I never understood. Never saw him bat that well regularly in Australia & South Africa

Brian Lara , Ponting & Sachin were far superior against pace bowling in these countries. Especially Lara - his record in Perth in 90s was exceptional

That's a myth first propagated by Imran Khan, and Pakistani fans took it seriously.

 

[Bhaijaan]

He has mentioned it quite a few times that Hansie troubled him the most.

I am sure he's not lying because all of us who watched plenty of Sachin remember he absolutely hated and looked very uncomfortable while facing these 120kph pie chuckers like Hansie, Ian Harvey, Ronnie Irani etc. Razzaq wasn't as slow as these guys early in his career but he had Sachin's number for a while. Same with Aaqib.

Wasim and Waqar both bowled too much to Sachin's legs not realising it was his strength area.

I think I will not consider Anderson's domination much as it came against an old past his prime Sachin.



Pollock dominated Sachin outside off stump with Jonty and Gibbs placed at Point and Covers. It was always annoying seeing Sachin punch one straight to their hands.

Sachin did give plenty of stick to Wasim in ODIs in the 90s. It was often the lesser bowlers who would get him out.

Wasim strangely didn't threaten Sachin much with the one that came in to hit the pads as much as Chaminda Vass did from my memory. Was had the most beautiful and threatening lbw curve of all lefties

 

[Bhaijaan]

Pakistani bowlers are naturally attacking. It historically hasn't worked great against Indian batsmen as it did against other teams like NZ etc.

Attacking the stumps hasnt worked a lot.

Guys like Aaqib, Naved, Razzaq had more rewarding figures trying to make the batsmen play away from their body rather

 

[burger_uno]

Sachin, in eighteen test matches against Pakistan, averages slightly over 40 which is not even close being at ATG lvl.

In ODI's, his batting average against Pak is 4 runs less than his career avg. In ODI's he participated, India's winning percentage against Pakistan is around 46%.

So its perfectly understandable if Pakistani fans do not put Sachin in the list of most feared opposing batsmen. I certainly would have likes of Richards, Ponting and even Lara ahead of Sachin when it comes to batsmen that posed the most threat to Pakistan. There were matches that Sachin dominated against Pakistan. But there were others who hurt Pakistan more consistently. For me, the opponent I feared most was Richards. I would put Ponting in the same category.

From modern day era, I think Kohli, on his own, can win far most matches against Pakistan than Sachin did. However I am not so sure, how Kohli would stack up against Pakistani bowling line up from the 90's.

Hypothetical question so we will never find out.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Sachin, in eighteen test matches against Pakistan, averages slightly over 40 which is not even close being at ATG lvl.

In ODI's, his batting average against Pak is 4 runs less than his career avg. In ODI's he participated, India's winning percentage against Pakistan is around 46%.

So its perfectly understandable if Pakistani fans do not put Sachin in the list of most feared opposing batsmen. I certainly would have likes of Richards, Ponting and even Lara ahead of Sachin when it comes to batsmen that posed the most threat to Pakistan. There were matches that Sachin dominated against Pakistan. But there were others who hurt Pakistan more consistently. For me, the opponent I feared most was Richards. I would put Ponting in the same category.

From modern day era, I think Kohli, on his own, can win far most matches against Pakistan than Sachin did. However I am not so sure, how Kohli would stack up against Pakistani bowling line up from the 90's.

Hypothetical question so we will never find out.

If Pakistani fans have to go by numbers against Pakistan only then Sehwag and Sangakkara beat Viv, Ponting, Lara

Stick to one criteria if you must

 

[burger_uno]

i missed the part when Sangakarra and Sehwag dominated likes of Wasim and Waqar. And Sehwag's ODI average in Pak need's some beating.

 

[NishanKonar]

On a diff note - its all about how you percieve a certain batsman. Murali always said Lara was better than Sachin while Warne said opposite. Imran Khan rated Viv Richards & Gavaskar as best ever although many wud say Barry Richards & Greg Chappel were better

ps : Malcolm Marshall once rated Dilip Vengsarkar as his toughest opponent. Pretty sure even most Indians ( especially those who did watch cricket in 80s ) wud struggle to digest that

 

[NishanKonar]

i missed the part when Sangakarra and Sehwag dominated likes of Wasim and Waqar. And Sehwag's ODI average in Pak need's some beating.

Sehwag was huge underachiever in ODI

Funny thing was that when Sehwag made his debut , everyone thought he wud be ODI specialist. Instead he went on to be opener & averaged 49 in tests but only mid 30s in ODI

 

[burger_uno]

I loved watching Sehwag bat but in the he got found out a little when bowlers found out that, unlike typical batsman from sub-continent, he was more vulnerable to incoming balls. Woolmer, to his credit, got Pakistani bowlers to ball inswing to Sehwag and that worked like a treat on a number of occasion.

Also in ODI's there were less slips for Sehwag and hence less gaps which impacted his strike rates. Often he got impatient and play a silly shot and get out.

But overall, an amazing talent.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Although I don't agree with him putting Inzi over Sachin but it is his own opinion. However I do think that things would have been different had he been part of IPL or BCCI commentary team.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Idk that’s what Wasim Akram said if you watch the video. Probably test cricket.

All he said was it wouldn’t be fair to rate Sachin since he never bowled to Sachin at his peak. So he just rated the other 4 and kept Sachin at 5 as “unrated”

[MENTION=134981]Bhaag Viru Bhaag[/MENTION]

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Wrong! He averages 52 odd with the bat as captain.

Who Sachin? Sachin flopped majorly as captain. He's a great player but he couldn't lead.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Exactly. Sachin had it quite easy. Off Sscyhin played for Pakistan he would have averaged 42 max, maybe 45. Inzamam in India without captaincy definitely a 57-59 average range player. Unbelievable talent, especially against pure pace.

Inzamam is good but again like i said his record against SA and Aus is nothing to boast. I just wonder had he not had the captaincy would his batting improved against them? He used to struggle against the likes of Nitini, Warne, Lee and Mcgrath.

 

[Hitman]

Who Sachin? Sachin flopped majorly as captain. He's a great player but he couldn't lead.

I’m not debating his captaincy merits. He doesn’t have a good captaincy record. You claimed that his batting flopped under his captaincy, which is not true. He averages 52 odd as captain.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

Although I don't agree with him putting Inzi over Sachin but it is his own opinion. However I do think that things would have been different had he been part of IPL or BCCI commentary team.

Isn't he a coach in the ipl

Interesting choices by Wasim
Especially having chosen Sachin to come on after inzi

Important to note that Inzi has a big hand in 92 and that he took care of Pakistani cricket once wasim was forced out

 

[Bewal Express]

Inzi had talent to die but underachieved big time because he was lazy and failed to nurture his own talent. Tendulkar was just as talented and achieved much more because he was more driven. Martin Crowe was a brilliant player and his stats don't reflect how good he was.

 

[Bewal Express]

Inzamam is good but again like i said his record against SA and Aus is nothing to boast. I just wonder had he not had the captaincy would his batting improved against them? He used to struggle against the likes of Nitini, Warne, Lee and Mcgrath.

For a man of his talent Inzi had an appalling record against Australia and SA in those countries. I always felt that his poor stance cost him dearly at the start of his innings because he just didn't look balanced for a big guy.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Inzamam is good but again like i said his record against SA and Aus is nothing to boast. I just wonder had he not had the captaincy would his batting improved against them? He used to struggle against the likes of Nitini, Warne, Lee and Mcgrath.

For a man of his talent Inzi had an appalling record against Australia and SA in those countries. I always felt that his poor stance cost him dearly at the start of his innings because he just didn't look balanced for a big guy.

I must also say, in all these years of watching cricket Sachin and Inzamam seemed like THE two unluckiest players in the way they got out so many times either to wrong decisions or bad accidents.

 

[burger_uno]

inzi's record against Australia is a bit of an anomaly. Reason: because of his lack of home games against australia. off the 370 odis inzi played, only 3 were at home against australia. and in one of those games, he absolutely smashed the aussie attack. inzi also played 5 matches against aussies in england where his avg is perfectly respectable despite being wrongly given out in one of those matches which happen to be a world cup final.

inzi did underperform in odis in australia. but even then, his avg is very similar to that of tendulkar's odi avg in australia. this is a strange coincidence. as someone said in this thread, both were victims of some atrocious umpiring. targeting of main opposition batsman was an aussie speciality while at the same time their main batsman, more often than not, got B.O.D. I remember, in one inning, sachin got given lbw when ducked into a short ball which did not rise as expected. i also recall inzi being given out lbw when he missed a pull shot.

story is some what similar in test. in that famous karachi test match, inzi, despite carrying an injury, single-handedly pulled pakistan over the line thereby preserving pakistan's undefeated record in karachi for another seven years. i think healy missed his stumping when target was in single digits. i also recall healy dropping lara in very similar circumstances.

in tests, inzi did perform poorly against australia in australia. there were a number of reasons for that one being umpiring. also the aussie attack was one of the ATG and inzi did not have much protection like sachin did in form of dravid and later sehwag. sachin also played a series in australia in which mcgrath was not available.

overall, i agree that inzi underachieved one reason being he did not focus on fitness. sachin was more committed to the cause in my view. but even then inzi was a hell of a player who unlike many batsmen from pakistan never played for personal glory or milestones. there are few bastmen in world cricket who i have enjoyed watching more than inzi.

 

[Kroll]

Headline is really misleading.

Wasim Akram said he cannot rank Sachin as he never bowled to him between 1989-1999.

I guess he wouldn't have bowled much to Inzi competitively either.

 

[BreadPakoda]

Surprised not to see Kallis or Ponting there. Both very good against pace but maybe lose out on charisma as [MENTION=65183]freelance_cricketer[/MENTION] usually points out. Sanga has a fair shout too although Akram didn't bowl a lot to him.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

I guess he wouldn't have bowled much to Inzi competitively either.

True but I guess he still bowled to Inzi a lot in the nets.

Regardless, he was very explicit that he’s not ranking Sachin.

He didn’t place him at 5 — he didn’t place him at all

 

[Robert]

Surprised that Wasim doesn’t rate Stewart higher. He clobbered Pakistan, hit a 190 and a 175, and carried his bat in one match. Averaged 52 against Pakistan and 64 when not keeping wicket.

 

[Ted123]

No mention of Ponting and Kallis also.

 

[sweep_shot]

He picked Martin Crowe over Ricky Ponting! That's surprising.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

On a diff note - its all about how you percieve a certain batsman. Murali always said Lara was better than Sachin while Warne said opposite. Imran Khan rated Viv Richards & Gavaskar as best ever although many wud say Barry Richards & Greg Chappel were better

ps : Malcolm Marshall once rated Dilip Vengsarkar as his toughest opponent. Pretty sure even most Indians ( especially those who did watch cricket in 80s ) wud struggle to digest that

In this context I can never forget Dennis Lillee rating David Gower ahead of even Greg Chappell or Graeme Pollock.,when rating his hardest batsmen he ever bowled to.Similarly some great pacemen like Dennis Lillee preferred Gundappa Vishwanath to Gavaskar West Indies pacemen rated Ian Chappel ahead of brother Greg Chappell,who statistically was much better.Similar case with Gavaskar rating Rohan Kanhai above Gary Sobers.It is not all about averages but tenacity in a crisis or on bad wickets as well as flair.Vishy was better on bad wickets and pace than Sunny,Ian better in a crisis than brother Greg and Kanhai technical y ahead of Sobers.Gower was simply effortlessness personified.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

There is no basis for Inzamam being rated ahead of Tendulkar.Sachin is miles ahead in the record books and was a more complete batsmen..

The only trumpcard in Inzy's pocket is his average of around 80 in winning causes and match-winning centuries in around 70% of his test matches.Statistically Inzy was the best match-winner of his time overshadowing Tendulkar or Lara.Even if statistically not on par,Inzy handled express pace more effortlessly than Sachin ,displaying greater surety against the bouncing ball.Inzamam was more merciless against short-pitched bowling with better reflexes.I feel Inzy may have had a better record facing pure pace ,b it Ambrose,Walsh or Donald.Arguably Inzy could have been a more daunting proposition in run chases in 4th innings or in a tightly fought ODI.

Inzy was more flamboyant bit I doubt whether he was technically in Sachin's class or surpassed tendulkar's innovative ability ,even against the good ball.

What worked against Inzamam was his record against the best teams that were Australia and South Africa.However overall he overshadowed Tendulkar in and against West Indies.

It is even debatable whether Inzy could be clubbed with the likes of a Viv,Lara or Sachin or Ponting.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Wasim has not considered the records but the ease and conviction in which opponents played him.It must be said that at his peak he hardly bowled against Viv Richards.No doubt in full flow Lara was more majestic or imperious and a better match-winner.Arguably Crowe was more organized and effortless against Wasim.Tendulkar also hardly played against Wasim in test matches.Still I cannot envisage any of them equalling Tendulkar's match-winning 98 v Pakistan in 2003 world cup ,which took virtuosity in batting to it's crescendo.

In sum Wasim is not asessing in pure class but only with regard to whom he found most challenging to bowl to.He is daling only with aesthetic sand not overall achievement.

Overall only Viv or Lara can be subject of debate but remember Viv never faced his own great pace bowlers and Lara did not score a single century against a truly great genuinely fast bowler.

The criteria of this evaluation by Wasim remind some of the time when some great pacemen felt Vishwanath was a harder proposition to bowl to than Gavaskar like Lillee and Roberts, Hadlee ranking Greg Chappell as more perfect than Viv Richards,Imran rating Ian Chappell a better player than brother Greg or none other than Gary Sobers rating Mark Waugh as a more complete batsmen than brother Steve.

 

[burger_uno]

for an odi great, tendulkar's record away against both south africa and australia is downright ordinary - poor even. in s.a, sachin averages around 25 which is significantly worse than that of lara's (mid 30s) and even lower than that of inzi's which is around 30. in sachin's defence, he probably played a lot of those games as an opener so allowance should be made for that. even then, in odi's in tough conditions, against the best teams, sachin was not a world beater by any means. incidentally, i recall inzi playing as an opener in few odi's in australia and getting a quickfire 50 in one game. i think inzi should have given opening a try and his lack of desire to get out of comfort zone is a blackmark against him in my opinion.

in subcontinent, inzi's odi record against india is better than his career average while the opposite is the case for tendulkar. sachin does have a great record against pakistan but that record does not stand out which shows that against an attack tailored for sub-continent conditions, tendulkar was good but not not great. most importantly for me, in odis in which inzi participated against india, pakistan's winning percentage stands at an astonishing 60%

in tests, sachin has done better than inzi did under difficult conditions of s.a. and australia i think mentally, sachin was a stronger player compared to inzi and this was an important factor for succeeding in tests. i dont think inzi had it in him to score the 200 sachin did in australia when sachin cut off all his shots outside off. in addition, sachin was supported by a stronger batting line up. vvs laxman was a beast in australia. in this regard, lara deserves the most respect because he put up sachin type numbers despite being a part of one of the weakest batting units of the era.

incidentally, i had mentioned richards as a the most dangerous batsman against pak. in fact reality is just the opposite. his record against pak (odis and tests) is significantly worse than his career avg and very ordinary even. i will have to look at why this is the case? without checking, i can only speculate, given the quality on offer and the ease with wi used to beat us, viv did not take pakistan seriously!

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Wasim has not considered the records but the ease and conviction in which opponents played him.It must be said that at his peak he hardly bowled against Viv Richards.No doubt in full flow Lara was more majestic or imperious and a better match-winner.Arguably Crowe was more organized and effortless against Wasim.Tendulkar also hardly played against Wasim in test matches.Still I cannot envisage any of them equalling Tendulkar's match-winning 98 v Pakistan in 2003 world cup ,which took virtuosity in batting to it's crescendo.

In sum Wasim is not asessing in pure class but only with regard to whom he found most challenging to bowl to.He is daling only with aesthetic sand not overall achievement.

Overall only Viv or Lara can be subject of debate but remember Viv never faced his own great pace bowlers and Lara did not score a single century against a truly great genuinely fast bowler.

The criteria of this evaluation by Wasim remind some of the time when some great pacemen felt Vishwanath was a harder proposition to bowl to than Gavaskar like Lillee and Roberts, Hadlee ranking Greg Chappell as more perfect than Viv Richards,Imran rating Ian Chappell a better player than brother Greg or none other than Gary Sobers rating Mark Waugh as a more complete batsmen than brother Steve.

Love to have you here [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION]

 

[Last Monetarist]

Wasim has not considered the records but the ease and conviction in which opponents played him.It must be said that at his peak he hardly bowled against Viv Richards.No doubt in full flow Lara was more majestic or imperious and a better match-winner.Arguably Crowe was more organized and effortless against Wasim.Tendulkar also hardly played against Wasim in test matches.Still I cannot envisage any of them equalling Tendulkar's match-winning 98 v Pakistan in 2003 world cup ,which took virtuosity in batting to it's crescendo.

In sum Wasim is not asessing in pure class but only with regard to whom he found most challenging to bowl to.He is daling only with aesthetic sand not overall achievement.

Overall only Viv or Lara can be subject of debate but remember Viv never faced his own great pace bowlers and Lara did not score a single century against a truly great genuinely fast bowler.

The criteria of this evaluation by Wasim remind some of the time when some great pacemen felt Vishwanath was a harder proposition to bowl to than Gavaskar like Lillee and Roberts, Hadlee ranking Greg Chappell as more perfect than Viv Richards,Imran rating Ian Chappell a better player than brother Greg or none other than Gary Sobers rating Mark Waugh as a more complete batsmen than brother Steve.

Take serious issue with this, reckon Crowe's 93 at Auckland in the 1992 World Cup or Lara's 88 at the MCG earlier in the same edition were just as masterful as Tendulkar's knock at Centurion eleven years later.

 

[NishanKonar]

for an odi great, tendulkar's record away against both south africa and australia is downright ordinary - poor even. in s.a, sachin averages around 25 which is significantly worse than that of lara's (mid 30s) and even lower than that of inzi's which is around 30. in sachin's defence, he probably played a lot of those games as an opener so allowance should be made for that. even then, in odi's in tough conditions, against the best teams, sachin was not a world beater by any means. incidentally, i recall inzi playing as an opener in few odi's in australia and getting a quickfire 50 in one game. i think inzi should have given opening a try and his lack of desire to get out of comfort zone is a blackmark against him in my opinion.

in subcontinent, inzi's odi record against india is better than his career average while the opposite is the case for tendulkar. sachin does have a great record against pakistan but that record does not stand out which shows that against an attack tailored for sub-continent conditions, tendulkar was good but not not great. most importantly for me, in odis in which inzi participated against india, pakistan's winning percentage stands at an astonishing 60%

in tests, sachin has done better than inzi did under difficult conditions of s.a. and australia i think mentally, sachin was a stronger player compared to inzi and this was an important factor for succeeding in tests. i dont think inzi had it in him to score the 200 sachin did in australia when sachin cut off all his shots outside off. in addition, sachin was supported by a stronger batting line up. vvs laxman was a beast in australia. in this regard, lara deserves the most respect because he put up sachin type numbers despite being a part of one of the weakest batting units of the era.

incidentally, i had mentioned richards as a the most dangerous batsman against pak. in fact reality is just the opposite. his record against pak (odis and tests) is significantly worse than his career avg and very ordinary even. i will have to look at why this is the case? without checking, i can only speculate, given the quality on offer and the ease with wi used to beat us, viv did not take pakistan seriously!

Winning percentage is more of a factor of your bowling strength not the batsman alone. Bowlers win matches more than batsmen

If Sachin had Wasim Waqar in his team instead of Agarkar / Nehra - his winning % wud have been much higher

Inzamam is not a better matchwinner bcoz he won more matches. Its just bcoz he was playing with match winning bowlers. So I will discount that as a factor

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Winning percentage is more of a factor of your bowling strength not the batsman alone. Bowlers win matches more than batsmen

If Sachin had Wasim Waqar in his team instead of Agarkar / Nehra - his winning % wud have been much higher

Inzamam is not a better matchwinner bcoz he won more matches. Its just bcoz he was playing with match winning bowlers. So I will discount that as a factor

Do kindly reply to my posts.appreciate.

 

[burger_uno]

Winning percentage is more of a factor of your bowling strength not the batsman alone. Bowlers win matches more than batsmen

If Sachin had Wasim Waqar in his team instead of Agarkar / Nehra - his winning % wud have been much higher

Inzamam is not a better matchwinner bcoz he won more matches. Its just bcoz he was playing with match winning bowlers. So I will discount that as a factor

Yes i agree that inzamam's cause was helped by a very strong bowling attack. at the same time same time, the indian bowling attack he faced was pretty decent - at least when it came to front line bowlers. under right conditions, srinath, prasad and kumble could be very dangerous. in subcontinent however indian pace attack was at a disadvantage because conditions did not favour bowlers who relied on bounce and seam. and indians did not help their cause by preparing wickets that put their own pace attack at a disadvantage. i remember srinath was absolutely deadly in the calcutta '99 test match when conditions really suited him. i can also recall prasad reducing pakistan to around 50/5 in seaming conditions in sl before match got abandoned for rain.

in addition, inzi also continued to deliver post retirement of the two Ws and decline of Saqlain. The winning percentage declined but it is still positive. there is no way that pakistan attack led by rana navaid and rao anjum should have defeated an indian side comprising of sachin, sehwag, yuvraj and dhoni, 4-2 in india. and i would argue that indian bowling unit was at least a match if not better than the one pakistan put on the field post retirement of the 2Ws, Saeed Anwer and decline of Saqlain. One reason Pakistan held its own was due to to the fact that Inzi raised his game when it mattered. His record against India is better than the his record pre-retirement of the Pak greats.

In test matches, Pakistan suffered more. That was largely due to indians batting greats who were better able to exploit conditions in Pakistan where they also benefited from facing the likes of fazle akbar. even in tests, however the advantage is only slightly in favour of indians.

overall i think inzi was an absolute champion batsman - comparable to the best of his era and the second best pakistani batsman I have seen after miandad. inzi's career suffered because he did not get a lot of opportunity to play against S.A. and Australia at home. i also think he could have gotten out more from his career if he focused more on fitness and got out of his comfort zone a little. but we are quibbling at small things here. for me, it was absolute pleasure to watch him bat and watch him deliver when it really counted which was more often than not.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Yes i agree that inzamam's cause was helped by a very strong bowling attack. at the same time same time, the indian bowling attack he faced was pretty decent - at least when it came to front line bowlers. under right conditions, srinath, prasad and kumble could be very dangerous. in subcontinent however indian pace attack was at a disadvantage because conditions did not favour bowlers who relied on bounce and seam. and indians did not help their cause by preparing wickets that put their own pace attack at a disadvantage. i remember srinath was absolutely deadly in the calcutta '99 test match when conditions really suited him. i can also recall prasad reducing pakistan to around 50/5 in seaming conditions in sl before match got abandoned for rain.

in addition, inzi also continued to deliver post retirement of the two Ws and decline of Saqlain. The winning percentage declined but it is still positive. there is no way that pakistan attack led by rana navaid and rao anjum should have defeated an indian side comprising of sachin, sehwag, yuvraj and dhoni, 4-2 in india. and i would argue that indian bowling unit was at least a match if not better than the one pakistan put on the field post retirement of the 2Ws, Saeed Anwer and decline of Saqlain. One reason Pakistan held its own was due to to the fact that Inzi raised his game when it mattered. His record against India is better than the his record pre-retirement of the Pak greats.

In test matches, Pakistan suffered more. That was largely due to indians batting greats who were better able to exploit conditions in Pakistan where they also benefited from facing the likes of fazle akbar. even in tests, however the advantage is only slightly in favour of indians.

overall i think inzi was an absolute champion batsman - comparable to the best of his era and the second best pakistani batsman I have seen after miandad. inzi's career suffered because he did not get a lot of opportunity to play against S.A. and Australia at home. i also think he could have gotten out more from his career if he focused more on fitness and got out of his comfort zone a little. but we are quibbling at small things here. for me, it was absolute pleasure to watch him bat and watch him deliver when it really counted which was more often than not.

Very good or methodical.analysis.any response to my posts?

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Very good or methodical.analysis.any response to my posts?

Statistically Inzamam was the best match-winning batsmen of his day.17 of his 25 tests centuries were in winning causes and he averaged over 78 in wins.He negotiated express pace with more effortlessness than Lara or Tendulkar ,displaying greater mastery in dominating the short,rising balls.Arguably in pure talent he matched strides with the very best.In his own right Inzamam shaped Pakistan cricket in the manner Ponting,Lara or Sachin did for their respective nations.On his day Inzy could take domination of bowling to regions of the sublime,carrying bat like a lumberjack. In hitting the final nails in the coffin Inzy or taking a team over the line Inzy could be more effective than anyone of his time.

.Arguably no batsmen of his time was so adept against genuine pace or played it with such consummate ease.On his day Inzy was flamboyance personified and could be the ultimate man to ressurect a side from the grave..Imran Khan ranked Inzy as the most talented batsmen of his time and best batsmen against pace.Inzy had the ability to take creativity in bating to metaphysical proportions.Above all he was a most un-selfish batsmen always putting the team's interest above his like when retiring before surpassing Javed Miandad's record aggregate of 8832 runs.


It is hard to envisage any Pakistan batsmen ever or any batsmen of his era who displayed so much coolness in a crisis to turn games and instill so much confidence to team mates.Inzamam 's innings have secured important wins for Pakistan in West Indies ,England ,India and New Zealand in tests.Javed was more consistent in a crisis but could not equal Inzamam's ability to turn the complexion of games.Like Javed Miandad Inzamam was master in run chases in ODI's planning his innings with the precision of an architect and taking his side across the line with the flourish of a boxer.I would not be surprised that team mates or tail enders could be more inspired batting with Inzy than Sachin ,Lara or Ponting.He also proved his penchant for mammoth scores when scoring 329 versus Bangladesh.His batting posessed a subtle element of wristwork to complement his power.I would have loved to witness Inzamam face Lillee and Thomson at their fastest and the great West Indies pace quartet.Somehow I would have backed Inzy to tackle them even better than Sachin or Lara who were not at their best against the bouncing delivery.Inzamam's batting could generate or boost a morale in his team mates more than any batsmen of his time.Viewers should read the sensation Inzy gave to Alan Donald when bowling to him.

However he was not a fast runner between wickets which could often contribute to his down fall.He was also not at his best against Australia and South Africa ,the premier teams of his day,both at home and away.He amassed more of his run son home turf and overseas he was at his best in New Zealand and West Indies where he averaged around 60.He was also consistent in England averaging close to 50.Arguably no batsmen played Ambrose or Walsh with such remorseless ease which he proved with his big scores against West Indies,who even if a depleted side has great pacemen.At his best he was a revelation in South Africa when scoring 99 in 1994 playing Alan Donald like a spinner.Inzy often was troubled by the moving ball because of his cross bat technique and often be a leg before victim.

What goes against Inzamam was his inabilty to take Pakistan to the status of champion team in his era unlike Javed Miandad,Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan.He was almost as good as Miandad away ,but Javed fared better bowling.Consistently he did not display the application of a Rahul Dravid,Tendulkar,Lara or Ponting and could often look aloof.What is surprising inspite of having such reserves of talent and fighting qualities to defy all odds Inzmamam did not join the pedestal of a Viv,Sachin or Lara.I attribute it to lack of application or being too casual in approach.Overall I feel he was a touch below Younis Khan,who was consistency personified and thus the 3rd best Pakistani batsmen of all.

I would bracket Inzamam with batsmen like David Gower,V.V.S.Laxman,Gundappa Vishwanath ,Mark Waugh or Kevin Pieterson who all had outstanding natural talent but fell out because of lack of sheer application.In his era VVS Laxman and Kevin Pieterson were closest to Inzamam.His rank may be debated but in my book I would always award Inzamam the stature of a truly great batsmen and not just a very good one.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

I’m not debating his captaincy merits. He doesn’t have a good captaincy record. You claimed that his batting flopped under his captaincy, which is not true. He averages 52 odd as captain.

Fair enough.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

I must also say, in all these years of watching cricket Sachin and Inzamam seemed like THE two unluckiest players in the way they got out so many times either to wrong decisions or bad accidents.

Well Inzi was just a dodgy runner and Sachin yes unlucky decisions but that goes for everyone. We all get unlucky.

Inzamam though was just a huge man, met him in real life and damn is he huge (and i don't mean fat).

 

[NishanKonar]

Yes i agree that inzamam's cause was helped by a very strong bowling attack. at the same time same time, the indian bowling attack he faced was pretty decent - at least when it came to front line bowlers. under right conditions, srinath, prasad and kumble could be very dangerous. in subcontinent however indian pace attack was at a disadvantage because conditions did not favour bowlers who relied on bounce and seam. and indians did not help their cause by preparing wickets that put their own pace attack at a disadvantage. i remember srinath was absolutely deadly in the calcutta '99 test match when conditions really suited him. i can also recall prasad reducing pakistan to around 50/5 in seaming conditions in sl before match got abandoned for rain.

in addition, inzi also continued to deliver post retirement of the two Ws and decline of Saqlain. The winning percentage declined but it is still positive. there is no way that pakistan attack led by rana navaid and rao anjum should have defeated an indian side comprising of sachin, sehwag, yuvraj and dhoni, 4-2 in india. and i would argue that indian bowling unit was at least a match if not better than the one pakistan put on the field post retirement of the 2Ws, Saeed Anwer and decline of Saqlain. One reason Pakistan held its own was due to to the fact that Inzi raised his game when it mattered. His record against India is better than the his record pre-retirement of the Pak greats.

In test matches, Pakistan suffered more. That was largely due to indians batting greats who were better able to exploit conditions in Pakistan where they also benefited from facing the likes of fazle akbar. even in tests, however the advantage is only slightly in favour of indians.

overall i think inzi was an absolute champion batsman - comparable to the best of his era and the second best pakistani batsman I have seen after miandad. inzi's career suffered because he did not get a lot of opportunity to play against S.A. and Australia at home. i also think he could have gotten out more from his career if he focused more on fitness and got out of his comfort zone a little. but we are quibbling at small things here. for me, it was absolute pleasure to watch him bat and watch him deliver when it really counted which was more often than not.

Again as I said his record in Australia & South Africa in test cricket is too mediocre for a truly great batsman. He is definitely a Pakistani great & outstanding on subcontineny pitches

But Inzamam's ability against pace on fast bouncy pitches is suspect. Great batsmen like Lara , Sachin , Viv Richards , Kevin Pietersen have that ability to deliver on all conditions. Sachin has 4 test tons in England , 4 in South Africa & 6 in Australia. Even in West Indies he scored 300 runs in that 1997 series against Ambrose & Walsh including a 90 plus on a treacherous Bridgetown pitch

ps : This is why I do not rate Ponting as a ATG. His record against spinners in Asian conditions is mediocre

pps : defination of greats is always subjective. VVS Laxman will be classified as a great by Indians & Australians but by nobody else

 

[NishanKonar]

Statistically Inzamam was the best match-winning batsmen of his day.17 of his 25 tests centuries were in winning causes and he averaged over 78 in wins.He negotiated express pace with more effortlessness than Lara or Tendulkar ,displaying greater mastery in dominating the short,rising balls.Arguably in pure talent he matched strides with the very best.In his own right Inzamam shaped Pakistan cricket in the manner Ponting,Lara or Sachin did for their respective nations.On his day Inzy could take domination of bowling to regions of the sublime,carrying bat like a lumberjack. In hitting the final nails in the coffin Inzy or taking a team over the line Inzy could be more effective than anyone of his time.

.Arguably no batsmen of his time was so adept against genuine pace or played it with such consummate ease.On his day Inzy was flamboyance personified and could be the ultimate man to ressurect a side from the grave..Imran Khan ranked Inzy as the most talented batsmen of his time and best batsmen against pace.Inzy had the ability to take creativity in bating to metaphysical proportions.Above all he was a most un-selfish batsmen always putting the team's interest above his like when retiring before surpassing Javed Miandad's record aggregate of 8832 runs.


It is hard to envisage any Pakistan batsmen ever or any batsmen of his era who displayed so much coolness in a crisis to turn games and instill so much confidence to team mates.Inzamam 's innings have secured important wins for Pakistan in West Indies ,England ,India and New Zealand in tests.Javed was more consistent in a crisis but could not equal Inzamam's ability to turn the complexion of games.Like Javed Miandad Inzamam was master in run chases in ODI's planning his innings with the precision of an architect and taking his side across the line with the flourish of a boxer.I would not be surprised that team mates or tail enders could be more inspired batting with Inzy than Sachin ,Lara or Ponting.He also proved his penchant for mammoth scores when scoring 329 versus Bangladesh.His batting posessed a subtle element of wristwork to complement his power.I would have loved to witness Inzamam face Lillee and Thomson at their fastest and the great West Indies pace quartet.Somehow I would have backed Inzy to tackle them even better than Sachin or Lara who were not at their best against the bouncing delivery.Inzamam's batting could generate or boost a morale in his team mates more than any batsmen of his time.Viewers should read the sensation Inzy gave to Alan Donald when bowling to him.

However he was not a fast runner between wickets which could often contribute to his down fall.He was also not at his best against Australia and South Africa ,the premier teams of his day,both at home and away.He amassed more of his run son home turf and overseas he was at his best in New Zealand and West Indies where he averaged around 60.He was also consistent in England averaging close to 50.Arguably no batsmen played Ambrose or Walsh with such remorseless ease which he proved with his big scores against West Indies,who even if a depleted side has great pacemen.At his best he was a revelation in South Africa when scoring 99 in 1994 playing Alan Donald like a spinner.Inzy often was troubled by the moving ball because of his cross bat technique and often be a leg before victim.

What goes against Inzamam was his inabilty to take Pakistan to the status of champion team in his era unlike Javed Miandad,Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan.He was almost as good as Miandad away ,but Javed fared better bowling.Consistently he did not display the application of a Rahul Dravid,Tendulkar,Lara or Ponting and could often look aloof.What is surprising inspite of having such reserves of talent and fighting qualities to defy all odds Inzmamam did not join the pedestal of a Viv,Sachin or Lara.I attribute it to lack of application or being too casual in approach.Overall I feel he was a touch below Younis Khan,who was consistency personified and thus the 3rd best Pakistani batsmen of all.

I would bracket Inzamam with batsmen like David Gower,V.V.S.Laxman,Gundappa Vishwanath ,Mark Waugh or Kevin Pieterson who all had outstanding natural talent but fell out because of lack of sheer application.In his era VVS Laxman and Kevin Pieterson were closest to Inzamam.His rank may be debated but in my book I would always award Inzamam the stature of a truly great batsmen and not just a very good one.

Good analysis except for the view that Inzamam was very good against pace. Its not backed by facts & stats

 

[Last Monetarist]

Again as I said his record in Australia & South Africa in test cricket is too mediocre for a truly great batsman. He is definitely a Pakistani great & outstanding on subcontineny pitches

But Inzamam's ability against pace on fast bouncy pitches is suspect. Great batsmen like Lara , Sachin , Viv Richards , Kevin Pietersen have that ability to deliver on all conditions. Sachin has 4 test tons in England , 4 in South Africa & 6 in Australia. Even in West Indies he scored 300 runs in that 1997 series against Ambrose & Walsh including a 90 plus on a treacherous Bridgetown pitch

ps : This is why I do not rate Ponting as a ATG. His record against spinners in Asian conditions is mediocre

pps : defination of greats is always subjective. VVS Laxman will be classified as a great by Indians & Australians but by nobody else

This bit is rubbish. He has a poor record against Harbhajan Singh, not in Asian conditions. His record against Muralitharan and the Pakistani spinners was excellent.

 

[andy0204]

Again as I said his record in Australia & South Africa in test cricket is too mediocre for a truly great batsman. He is definitely a Pakistani great & outstanding on subcontineny pitches

But Inzamam's ability against pace on fast bouncy pitches is suspect. Great batsmen like Lara , Sachin , Viv Richards , Kevin Pietersen have that ability to deliver on all conditions. Sachin has 4 test tons in England , 4 in South Africa & 6 in Australia. Even in West Indies he scored 300 runs in that 1997 series against Ambrose & Walsh including a 90 plus on a treacherous Bridgetown pitch

ps : This is why I do not rate Ponting as a ATG. His record against spinners in Asian conditions is mediocre

pps : defination of greats is always subjective. VVS Laxman will be classified as a great by Indians & Australians but by nobody else

Very huge claim before doing the research you said Ponting was poor against spinners in Asia,apart from Harbhajan which spinners did he struggle against with?

 

[NishanKonar]

Very huge claim before doing the research you said Ponting was poor against spinners in Asia,apart from Harbhajan which spinners did he struggle against with?

He struggled in 1998 series as well against Kumble & Raju