Which cricketer had the saddest ending to his career?

[Major]

Which cricketer had the saddest ending to his career?

Few mentions

- Mark Boucher
Guy was suppose to retire and was playing his last game. Ends up getting injured where the bail hits his eye pretty bad and had to get a surgery which left him difficulties.

That was the first time he got such an injury and it happened during his last game.

- Saeed Anwar
His daughter passed away and he just wasnt in the game anymore mentally.

- Kumar Sangakara
Best of the game, reached finals of the ICC events but never won the trophy.

-Jonathan Trott
Guy was avg in the 60s, and was a wonderful batsman, but once he got exposed by Australia and than his depression issue, his career just ended

-James Taylor
Was a prodigy and was expected to make it big in cricket, but had to retire prematurely due to a heart condition that didnt allow him to play cricket.

-Phillip Hughes
Another prodigy that died in a domestic game in Australia. His death later on forced ICC to bring in a protective pad on the back of the helmet

Any other that you guys know off?

 

[Hitman]

Shaun Pollock. The way he was pushed out of the team after being such a wonderful player over the years is a shame on South African cricket.

 

[Hitman]

Saeed Anwar - His daughter passed away and he just wasnt in the game anymore mentally.

I think his daughter passed away in 2001, and he retired from cricket after the 2003 World Cup. He played very little cricket after his daughter passed away.

 

[Major]

Henry Olonga

A talented bowler from Zimbabwe that was thrown off the team bus and forced to retire

 

[Hitman]

Waqar Younis - Choked in both the 96' and 03' World Cup, specially in the matches against India. Was booed out of the ground by Pakistani fans during the presentation ceremony of the 03' World Cup. Nothing can be worse than being booed in a World Cup that too by fans of his own nation.

 

[Major]

Shaun Pollock. The way he was pushed out of the team after being such a wonderful player over the years is a shame on South African cricket.

elaborate on this, what happened. Never knew about him being pushed out.

Yeh he was a fantastic bowler

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Inzi - the brainless slog to Paul Harris on the second delivery.

Miandad - that 96 wc quarterfinal loss was really hurtful and watching Miandad huffing and puffing was sad.

Dhoni - run out on the last ball of the penultimate over on 49 in a semi final.

Wasim and Waqar - Didn't even get to bowl in that rain affected game of no value.

Abdul Razzaq - a meaningless t20i game where Pak meekly surrendered and no one even knew he was playing.

Shoaib Akhtar - that phainty from Taylor and Oram. Went for 23 runs I think.

Yousaf - Was playing an ODI in which he wasn't even in the squad of and was wearing someone else's jersey. In addition was injured.

Ponting - Was told before the test if he scores a triple hundred, he's not getting picked for the next series.

 

[JattMaula]

Which cricketer had the saddest ending to his career?

Few mentions

- Mark Boucher
Guy was suppose to retire and was playing his last game. Ends up getting injured where the bail hits his eye pretty bad and had to get a surgery which left him difficulties.

That was the first time he got such an injury and it happened during his last game.

- Saeed Anwar
His daughter passed away and he just wasnt in the game anymore mentally.

- Kumar Sangakara
Best of the game, reached finals of the ICC events but never won the trophy.

-Jonathan Trott
Guy was avg in the 60s, and was a wonderful batsman, but once he got exposed by Australia and than his depression issue, his career just ended

-James Taylor
Was a prodigy and was expected to make it big in cricket, but had to retire prematurely due to a heart condition that didnt allow him to play cricket.

-Phillip Hughes
Another prodigy that died in a domestic game in Australia. His death later on forced ICC to bring in a protective pad on the back of the helmet

Any other that you guys know off?

Kumar Sangakkara was the man of the match of 2014 T20 WC final that Srilanka won defeating India.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

elaborate on this, what happened. Never knew about him being pushed out.

Yeh he was a fantastic bowler

He was being pushed out of the test side. From being an ever present opening bowler, he was relegated to second or third change bowler in Tests.

 

[Major]

Yousuf's ending wasnt sad. He destroyed his own career.

He never showed up for domestic cricket, had an ego. After getting that record he didnt improve his abilities and thought he warranted a place in the team only because of seniority.

 

[Hitman]

elaborate on this, what happened. Never knew about him being pushed out.

Yeh he was a fantastic bowler

He retired in Jan, 2008. And that was because a certain egomaniac Graeme Smith didn't want him in the team. He was a fantastic bowler till that point of time.

Most fans look at Smith's contribution to SA cricket without having knowledge about his attitude and his big mouth during his early days. The guy was a certified loud mouth during his early years.

 

[jeetu]

Nari Contractor - Former Indian captain's career ended immediately after being hit on the by Charlie Griffith's bouncer. Later in the match Griffith was called out for chucking. Contractor required multiple surgery to recover from brain clot.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

He retired in Jan, 2008. And that was because a certain egomaniac Graeme Smith didn't want him in the team. He was a fantastic bowler till that point of time.

Most fans look at Smith's contribution to SA cricket without having knowledge about his attitude and his big mouth during his early days. The guy was a certified loud mouth during his early years.

tbh the decision to get Steyn share the new ball with Ntini was a master stroke. 2008 was the year Steyn properly emerged at the international level. Pollock should have been kept in LOIs as his batting had been becoming better. In the end, I think it was Pollock's call.

 

[Kroll]

The lad Mohammad Zahid who burst onto the scene in nineties comes to mind with 10fer for Pak vs NZ. One of the most exciting prospects due to express pace.

Think his career came to a premature end due to a back injury.

 

[Rana]

From a T20 pov

It’s Sharjeel Khan for me.

He was a breath of fresh air in the most depressing white ball era of Misbah ul Haq. Beautiful timer of the ball, great attacking player of pace.

He threw it all away really.

 

[Major]

From a T20 pov

It’s Sharjeel Khan for me.

He was a breath of fresh air in the most depressing white ball era of Misbah ul Haq. Beautiful timer of the ball, great attacking player of pace.

He threw it all away really.

I dont think any fixer can fall in the category of sad ending, because every fixer did the crime themselves and it wasnt some other circumstance that ended their career.

Or else, guys like Hansir, Butt, Amir, Asif, etc, would have a very long list. But there is nothing sad, they were at fault.

 

[Rana]

I dont think any fixer can fall in the category of sad ending, because every fixer did the crime themselves and it wasnt some other circumstance that ended their career.

Or else, guys like Hansir, Butt, Amir, Asif, etc, would have a very long list. But there is nothing sad, they were at fault.

It is sad for their fans who appreciate the quality, entertainment value of their cricket

 

[Major]

It is sad for their fans who appreciate the quality, entertainment value of their cricket

The reason why I hate fixers is because during the 2010 England series, i was waking up early in the morning to watch the team play. When they were caught I felt foolish that i wasted time on these guys while they were secretly doing such acts.

Often the arguments that people like Hansie, Butt, Amir or Asif give is that the match wasnt fixed, the result wasnt fixed. What they dont understand is that even when you do spot fixing, you disrupt the credibility of the whole game. You dont know whether the game you are watching or the past games were actually clean or not.

Anyways, cant feel sad for these guys. Its a topic for another thread maybe

 

[sam_ahm]

Mohammed Azharuddin, he was an Indian cricket legend. He hit a century in his last test match, still the only player to score 3 centuries in his first three tests and the only player to hit a century in his first and last test. He was on 99 tests, absolutely deserved a 100th. He was at the time the highest run getter in ODI history, he was also the then most successful indian test and ODI captain...captained India for 3 straight WCs and for over 10 years... and it all ended on a very very sad note.

Lot of people here will go on about the same old fixing and that crap although all his bans were lifted long ago, this is more about sad ending personally for a cricketer and Azhar has to be right up there.

 

[Major]

Inzi had a very sad ending. His Odi career ended with his team losing to poor sides and being kicked out of the world cup. At the same time the Coach also died.

After which during his test retirement, Inzi needed 5-6 runs to end a career with an avg of 50 ( i think), and he missed on that opportunity.

I like to deduce he went crying back to the pavilion because he couldn't maintain that avg

 

[MenInG]

Inzi had a very sad ending. His Odi career ended with his team losing to poor sides and being kicked out of the world cup. At the same time the Coach also died.

After which during his test retirement, Inzi needed 5-6 runs to end a career with an avg of 50 ( i think), and he missed on that opportunity.

In that way even Javed Miandad also had a sad ending!

Think all Pakistan players, maybe Imran being an exception, have had sad endings to their careers.

 

[sweep_shot]

Waqar Younis.
Wasim Akram.
Muhammad Yusuf.
Vinod Kambli.
Mark Waugh.
Inzamam.
Azharuddin.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Mohammed Azharuddin, he was an Indian cricket legend. He hit a century in his last test match, still the only player to score 3 centuries in his first three tests and the only player to hit a century in his first and last test. He was on 99 tests, absolutely deserved a 100th. He was at the time the highest run getter in ODI history, he was also the then most successful indian test and ODI captain...captained India for 3 straight WCs and for over 10 years... and it all ended on a very very sad note.

Lot of people here will go on about the same old fixing and that crap although all his bans were lifted long ago, this is more about sad ending personally for a cricketer and Azhar has to be right up there.

Greg Chappell scored a 100 in his first and last test as well. Cook as well

 

[a_jawad]

I saw the title of the thread and the Boucher injury clips immediately came to my mind. For me that has to been the saddest ending to a fantastic career

 

[Duckworth Lewis]

Shoaib Akthar- After Kamran's dropped catches of his bowling, he lost his mind and started bowling back to back waist high full tosses to Ross Taylor, smacked all around.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Raza Hasan, banned for taking drugs if I recall correctly.

 

[Major]

Raza Hasan, banned for taking drugs if I recall correctly.

Cocaine. Never selected again

Abdur Rehman used hashish but he soo unfit that he bowed 3 no balls and his career ended there.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Simon Jones for his international career.

He was quick and a gun bowler but kept on suffering from unlucky injuries. I really used to love watching him bowl. Towards the end he came back in county and still clocked 90mph from a short run up but he wasn't the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue0ghB6Z_C4

Look at that!

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Wasim Raja, Raman Lamba and Phil Hughes in the recent past.

 

[SM1989]

Which cricketer had the saddest ending to his career?

Few mentions

- Mark Boucher
Guy was suppose to retire and was playing his last game. Ends up getting injured where the bail hits his eye pretty bad and had to get a surgery which left him difficulties.

That was the first time he got such an injury and it happened during his last game.

- Saeed Anwar
His daughter passed away and he just wasnt in the game anymore mentally.

- Kumar Sangakara
Best of the game, reached finals of the ICC events but never won the trophy.

-Jonathan Trott
Guy was avg in the 60s, and was a wonderful batsman, but once he got exposed by Australia and than his depression issue, his career just ended

-James Taylor
Was a prodigy and was expected to make it big in cricket, but had to retire prematurely due to a heart condition that didnt allow him to play cricket.

-Phillip Hughes
Another prodigy that died in a domestic game in Australia. His death later on forced ICC to bring in a protective pad on the back of the helmet

Any other that you guys know off?

Sangakarra was in the 2014 T20 World Cup winning team

 

[jaisan]

Shaun Pollock. The way he was pushed out of the team after being such a wonderful player over the years is a shame on South African cricket.

pollock was pushed out for dale steyn. it was fair when looked with hindsight.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Saeed Ajmal - at one time he was considered the biggest match winner in the world. His 7 wickets in the first innings of the first test against an ATG English side was fantastic to watch.

He got banned, came back with a modified action, played a couple of games, and then discarded.

Now, none even mentions his name among the best bowlers due to his questionable bowling action.

 

[sam_ahm]

Greg Chappell scored a 100 in his first and last test as well. Cook as well

Sorry mate, I must have said only 'Indian' player.

 

[sam_ahm]

Thinking of other names both Simon Jones and Shane Bond had sad ends to their careers. There was souvj potential there, like all time great potential and it was all lost to Injuries.

Very similar to Juan Martin Del Potro in tennis.

 

[light]

Which cricketer had the saddest ending to his career?

- Kumar Sangakara
Best of the game, reached finals of the ICC events but never won the trophy.

He and Mahela J. won the T20 WC in 2014.

 

[Major]

Nrver knew sanga was part of that squad of sri lanka that won. Good to know

 

[Saj]

I think players whose international careers end in disgrace are the saddest.

The likes of Mohammad Asif springs to mind.

 

[msb314]

Which cricketer had the saddest ending to his career?

Few mentions

- Mark Boucher
Guy was suppose to retire and was playing his last game. Ends up getting injured where the bail hits his eye pretty bad and had to get a surgery which left him difficulties.

That was the first time he got such an injury and it happened during his last game.

- Saeed Anwar
His daughter passed away and he just wasnt in the game anymore mentally.

- Kumar Sangakara
Best of the game, reached finals of the ICC events but never won the trophy.

-Jonathan Trott
Guy was avg in the 60s, and was a wonderful batsman, but once he got exposed by Australia and than his depression issue, his career just ended

-James Taylor
Was a prodigy and was expected to make it big in cricket, but had to retire prematurely due to a heart condition that didnt allow him to play cricket.

-Phillip Hughes
Another prodigy that died in a domestic game in Australia. His death later on forced ICC to bring in a protective pad on the back of the helmet

Any other that you guys know off?

Sanga did win the 2014 WorldT20 and the 2002 CT was shared between India and SL

 

[mazkhan]

Inzamam after the gutter media was trying to blame him and the team for Woolmer death.

Was sad moment seeing inzamam crying .

 

[alexjohn_tcr]

Chris Cairns

 

[prakash]

Abdul Razzaq - a meaningless t20i game where Pak meekly surrendered and no one even knew he was playing.

I vividly remember this. I was like what was Razzaq thinking. Batsmen's worst nightmare.


Tahir to Abdul Razzaq, OUT
Well notch that one to the commentator's curse as well. Razzaq, unbelievably, decides to leave a spinner on and around off, with the ball turning in, much to Razzaq's shock, and hitting the stumps. Tahir races up the wicket in celebration. Tthe South Africans know this is a big wicket considering the circumstances

Abdul Razzaq b Imran Tahir 0 (1b 0x4 0x6 1m) SR: 0

 

[Saj]

The problem with many Asian cricketers is they don't know when to walk away.

Instead they hang around like a bad odour, hoping their past reputation will allow for them to be picked again and again.

Too many are past it and look like a shadow of the player they once were.

 

[PakEngFan]

Misbah ul haq. Cost 2 icc trophies and played the worst innings in t20 as his last t20.

 

[Bilal7]

Saeed Ajmal - at one time he was considered the biggest match winner in the world. His 7 wickets in the first innings of the first test against an ATG English side was fantastic to watch.

He got banned, came back with a modified action, played a couple of games, and then discarded.

Now, none even mentions his name among the best bowlers due to his questionable bowling action.

He was the last great LOs offspinner and one of the GOATs of LOs cricket. A sad end but he remains a legend.

 

[munda_khi]

Asif Iqbal - Slipped and run out while taking a quick single which is his specialty, chasing a face-saving test victory.

 

[f.b.m]

Zulqarnain Haider - "leaving pakistan cricket because get bad msg fr 1 man fr lose the match."

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

I am surprised no one has mentioned ABD.

 

[Major]

The problem with many Asian cricketers is they don't know when to walk away.

Instead they hang around like a bad odour, hoping their past reputation will allow for them to be picked again and again.

Too many are past it and look like a shadow of the player they once were.

Actually they do know when to walk away, but they cant.

South Asia doesnt offer that many career opportunities. By retiring from international cricket, you are letting go alot of millions that you will never make in another job. Infact, finding another job is quite difficulty as there arn't any other jobs for them.

In other countries, cricketers atleast can get some other job with a decent pay that they can live comfortably.

Another thing is, our cricketers come from absolute poverty. 90% of our cricketers are rags to riches story. This guys once didn't have money to buy chicken or meat at home and have to eat lentils or go hungry. This is why I never blame our players for prolonging their careers, because its very difficult to get in, and no one than wants to leave that club

 

[Major]

I am surprised no one has mentioned ABD.

He himself walked out on his country, was a disgrace knowing how talented the guy was and could had played another world cup

 

[Speedster1]

Mohammed Asif - A magician the way he bowled and was always ahead of the batsman, true genius made it look really easy then it all took a horrible turn..

 

[Hitman]

Mohammed Asif - A magician the way he bowled and was always ahead of the batsman, true genius made it look really easy then it all took a horrible turn..

What's sad about it? He himself decided to end his career in disgrace.

 

[cric100]

Brian Lara

 

[LongHorn]

He retired in Jan, 2008. And that was because a certain egomaniac Graeme Smith didn't want him in the team. He was a fantastic bowler till that point of time.

Most fans look at Smith's contribution to SA cricket without having knowledge about his attitude and his big mouth during his early days. The guy was a certified loud mouth during his early years.

Smith was given the captaincy at an unusually early age (23 or 24) I think. That would have led to his arrogance. Same for Shakib, he got the captaincy when he was in his early 20s and his main issue is his occasional outbursts

 

[LongHorn]

Saeed Ajmal - at one time he was considered the biggest match winner in the world. His 7 wickets in the first innings of the first test against an ATG English side was fantastic to watch.

He got banned, came back with a modified action, played a couple of games, and then discarded.

Now, none even mentions his name among the best bowlers due to his questionable bowling action.

I feel Pakistani fans should have stood more behind him. I recall him being bashed by his own fans for his displeasure at being discarded so quickly

 

[Abdullah]

This should be a Pakistan specific thread.
Unfortunately

 

[Speedster1]

What's sad about it? He himself decided to end his career in disgrace.

Yes that’s the most saddest part

 

[Hitman]

Yes that’s the most saddest part

Truth be told, I found him a very, very talented bowler. But then again, he simply is a rotten apple. Prior to the spot fixing scandal, he was caught twice taking illegal substance. Then was was once caught in an airport with illegal stuff. He is lucky he got 2 chances to resume his international career again. And yet he got involved in the spot fixing scandal.

He was a far better bowler than Shaoib Akhtar, who had a miserable record against Australia and India in Tests.

 

[proud_pakistani]

Inzi for me. He was pushed out and his last game ended up being against Zimbabwe. Also it was the end of the era of the great 90s cricketers overall. Wasim, Waqar, Saeed Anwar and Inzi.

 

[dravidthewall]

Umar Akmal ....what a sad end of his career. Become one of the naturally talented cricketer pak ever produced. By the time now he is kohli caliber. But his career ended so quickly.
Shane bond another magician fast bowler who run through great Australian batting line up. Sadly his career ended with back injuries.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Muhammad Asif what a sad ending it was... He could have become the world's best bowler if he hadn't made that choice.

 

[SamNJ]

Rahul Dravid
India lost 4-0 to England and 4-0 to Australia in tests in the same year. Dravid kept getting bowled in the Australia series.
Had to retire with the record of being batsman with most number of bowleds. Anti climatic ending for someone called the wall.

 

[SportsWarrior]

Inzi had a very sad ending. His Odi career ended with his team losing to poor sides and being kicked out of the world cup. At the same time the Coach also died.

After which during his test retirement, Inzi needed 5-6 runs to end a career with an avg of 50 ( i think), and he missed on that opportunity.

I like to deduce he went crying back to the pavilion because he couldn't maintain that avg

he needed 70 to get to an average of 50 and they won their last game against ZIm.. but still lost out progressing..

 

[RidiculousMan]

Mohammad Amir

 

[ahmadharis1]

James Taylor; was primed to be an England regular in all formats

 

[mominsaigol]

I'm going to speak for my time only since I've only been watching cricket since 2011.

Pakistan
1) Saeed Ajmal: From best in the world to banned and had zero impact after his return.

2) Abdul Razzaq: Last time I saw him was in a t20, no one cared about. After 2011 he just wasn't their any more, the guy went from best finisher of Pakistan to no one even knowing when he retired?

3) Younis Khan: Test ATG but in odi he just never achieved, his final game he scored 9 and just departed. Disappointing end to a dissapointed odi career.

4) Ahmed Shehzad: Once hailed as the Pakistanis version of Kholi he just never improved his game, had good stroke play but couldn't take singles, nor did he improve any aspects of his game like getting stuck on the front foot and being a dud to inswing pace. His attitude, followed by being a druggie etc, just a sad end in general, after imam ul haq scored a century on debut, it was clear Ahmed shezad would never represent Pakistan again.

5) Umar Akmal: This is his fault but also misbah's fault. Umar akmal was destined to be the best no 3, an amazing striker and unselfish player, but misbah turned him into a finisher which wasn't his position and often tines he had to come in positions such as 100/5 and was forced to take pressure. His own fault is his attitude issues and just like Ahmed shezad never bothering to iron out his issues. Was overall unfit, and just lacked the ability to improve.

6) Sami Aslam: Was ironically better then Babar Azam when they played together, but babar has surpassed him by a country mile now, Sami scored a 45 of 50 on debut and was clearly superior to Ahmed shezad, but alas Haroon rasheed and misbah nepotism meant asad shafiq and Ahmed shezad had to play. After that sami Aslam just wasn't the same, poor outing against England, and a poor test form, likely due to pressure of always having to perform or be dropped.

7) Fawad Alam: Fawad should have played instead of asad shafiq. I don't like fawad and saud is 100x better and replaced him but I feel for fawad if you have someone like asad shafiq occupying your spot for a decade. Based of fc stats he should have been in the test team.

8) Haris Sohail: Easily the best middle order batsmen we have had over the last decade, perfect no 4/ no 5, it's too bad his knee and his unfitness never allowed him to play. Had he been fit, he'd be an ATG middle order bat for Pakistan and a solid no 5. Much much better then agha as a whole.

9) Sarfraz Ahmed: This man was the only shining light in the 2015 world cup, and recovered Pakistan from the dark ages of misbah but winning champions trophy 2017 by instilling a strong mindset. He also has a superior captaincy brain then babar in general since he doesn't stick to a formula. And tbf to sarfraz, we didn't have a bad outing, we'd have been in the semi's if India didn't lose to England.

Don't see why he was removed, again its misbah's fault, he was desperate to get rid of sarfraz hence had rizwan open. I don't mind rizwan, but sarfraz should have been respected more, he wasn't that bad and theirs a reason he replaced rizwan as our main test keeper.

10) Amir: Should have achieved more, another attitude problem player. But naseem, shaheen and haris have replaced him.

11) Hasan Ali: Was a gun bowler, then went out of form, and I doubt he's making it back with our current trio.

 

[owenhcricket]

Once can't say Saeed Anwar's daughter dying was the end of his career...because it wasnt otherwise that would certainly be the saddest end.

It comes down to actual life and death and Hughes dying so young, on the field, to a bouncer was so dark and a real soul searching moment for cricket.

 

[chinaman00]

For me, it will always be Shabbir Ahmed who was such a great bowler. His accuracy reminded one of legendary Aussie bowler Glenn McGrath. He could bowl all day on the same spot and had the joint record for the fastest 59 Test Wickets with Waqar Yonis.

Unfortunately, his bowling action was questioned and he suspended as a result. He never returned again. But what a deadly accurate bowler he was. He was in fact more accurate than the druggie & chest Muhammad Asif.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Carlos Brathwaite and Darren Sammy are the guys who elevated West Indies cricketing standards so high but yet regrettably they never received the recognition they truly deserved.

 

[JaDed]

Ganguly , Kumble and Dravid - India
ABDV and Mark Taylor overall

Honorable mentions: Waqar, Shoaib

For Junaids: Barry Richards

 

[jnaveen1980]

Inzi left in sad circumstances. This was his statement

“I want to now give way to youngsters and allow them to take centre stage. I don’t want to stop any youngster’s progress,” Inzamam said on Friday.

 

[MMHS]

I am not sure from which perspective the question is asked - at extreme Raman Lamba & Phil Huges & Contractor almost….but I guess the question was which player’s exit was disgraceful.

To me - Javed Miandad. He was as popular as Imran, carried PAK batting for a decade and one of the greats of the game…. He forced his way in the team, cost PAK dearly and left silently on the day his team was eliminated from a WC they were top favourites.

A player like Javed should leave when fans should cry why he is leaving - instead he left when everyone was screaming when….? His exit was as disgraceful as it can be for a legend of the game - even didn’t get a farewell game, not even a send off from the players.

 

[kron]

elaborate on this, what happened. Never knew about him being pushed out.

Yeh he was a fantastic bowler

Not really he got pushed out cause they brought in steyn who is just way better than Pollock ever was. Pollock consistently choked against Aussies.

 

[kron]

Can't really feel sorry for a racist like Boucher either honestly. Some would say karma but he has a coaching role so he isn't doing too bad.

 

[topspin]

Actually you should feel happy for the fixers because they gave you Misbah, your favorite captain.

@topspin @Rana

Misbah's biggest supporters should feel extremely fortunate that the spot-fixing scandal happened. It gave his beloved Misbah the limelight and the responsibility that he always craved for. Watching Misbah come out to bat, field and appear in post-match presentations gave him more pleasure than what he'll ever get from anyone else in this world.

But you have to laugh at him for taking the moral high ground for a number of reasons:

1. During the 2011 World Cup Semi-Final in Mohali, Misbah played for his place in the side. He started slogging after he reached his half-century. I remember the comm. box, featuring Ravi Shashri, all perplexed by Misbah's approach. They were all wondering why he didn't show the same intent much earlier in the innings. It didn't take a genius to figure out what his intentions were.

2. As a captain, he was the biggest beneficiary of chucking. Most notably from Saeed Ajmal. Without the chucking services of him and Hafeez his captaincy record would've been even worse than it was. No one would be raving about "how good of a captain he was in the UAE".

3. When Amir was towards the end of his 5 year ban. Misbah went out of his way to reintroduce him to the national team. I have no issue with this whatsoever. In fact I would've done the same. The problem here is Major is in denial. He claims that "Misbah was forced" to bring him back into the side. A very desperate attempt to make your favourite cricketer appear infallible.

4. Misbah played his part to oust Mickey Arthur as Head Coach merely to take up the role for himself, when he had no coaching qualifications nor any coaching experience. This could be forgiven if he did a decent job but there was never any hope for someone with a poor cricketing IQ who was out of touch with the modern game even during his playing days.

The bottom line is if you're going to take the moral high ground, you have to apply the same standard for everyone, even if it's for your beloved hero.

 

[ArabKnight]

Misbah's biggest supporters should feel extremely fortunate that the spot-fixing scandal happened. It gave his beloved Misbah the limelight and the responsibility that he always craved for. Watching Misbah come out to bat, field and appear in post-match presentations gave him more pleasure than what he'll ever get from anyone else in this world.

But you have to laugh at him for taking the moral high ground for a number of reasons:

1. During the 2011 World Cup Semi-Final in Mohali, Misbah played for his place in the side. He started slogging after he reached his half-century. I remember the comm. box, featuring Ravi Shashri, all perplexed by Misbah's approach. They were all wondering why he didn't show the same intent much earlier in the innings. It didn't take a genius to figure out what his intentions were.

2. As a captain, he was the biggest beneficiary of chucking. Most notably from Saeed Ajmal. Without the chucking services of him and Hafeez his captaincy record would've been even worse than it was. No one would be raving about "how good of a captain he was in the UAE".

3. When Amir was towards the end of his 5 year ban. Misbah went out of his way to reintroduce him to the national team. I have no issue with this whatsoever. In fact I would've done the same. The problem here is Major is in denial. He claims that "Misbah was forced" to bring him back into the side. A very desperate attempt to make your favourite cricketer appear infallible.

4. Misbah played his part to oust Mickey Arthur as Head Coach merely to take up the role for himself, when he had no coaching qualifications nor any coaching experience. This could be forgiven if he did a decent job but there was never any hope for someone with a poor cricketing IQ who was out of touch with the modern game even during his playing days.

The bottom line is if you're going to take the moral high ground, you have to apply the same standard for everyone, even if it's for your beloved hero.

Indeed, that spot-fixing scandal was a jackpot lottery for jump-starting Misbah’s career from the frozen tundra abyss of Pakistani hibernation. Without this event, Misbah would be still playing for local FC, List-A, T20, Gully teams of Faisalabad. He would also be a part-time salesman manufacturing cricketing gear, leveraging his MBA degree. Misbah would be no where near the national side, let alone the captaincy.

Perhaps he would also have had captaining gigs for school cricket teams. However that wouldn’t turn out so great because according to Aqib Javed, not even school cricketing teams would hire Misbah to be their coach. Everybody in Faisalabad would know about the cricket dictator Misbah, an old-school Test batter who doesn’t let anyone but himself have a chance to bat in gully cricket. Everyone else would be literally blocked from playing (pun intended). Faisalabad would begin to be known as the city in Pakistan which has a severe lack of production of national cricketers. The batters would be identified by their stark defensive technique and intentions to draw every match in the QeAT.

 

[Rana]

Actually you should feel happy for the fixers because they gave you Misbah, your favorite captain.

@topspin @Rana

Misbah indeed was a massive beneficiary of the spot fixing scandal. His career was pretty much over until the PCB reached out to him to clean their image for them

 

[topspin]

Indeed, that spot-fixing scandal was a jackpot lottery for jump-starting Misbah’s career from the frozen tundra abyss of Pakistani hibernation. Without this event, Misbah would be still playing for local FC, List-A, T20, Gully teams of Faisalabad. He would also be a part-time salesman manufacturing cricketing gear, leveraging his MBA degree. Misbah would be no where near the national side, let alone the captaincy.

Perhaps he would also have had captaining gigs for school cricket teams. However that wouldn’t turn out so great because according to Aqib Javed, not even school cricketing teams would hire Misbah to be their coach. Everybody in Faisalabad would know about the cricket dictator Misbah, an old-school Test batter who doesn’t let anyone but himself have a chance to bat in gully cricket. Everyone else would be literally blocked from playing (pun intended). Faisalabad would begin to be known as the city in Pakistan which has a severe lack of production of national cricketers. The batters would be identified by their stark defensive technique and intentions to draw every match in the QeAT.

I wish he was coaching in schools so he could leave Pakistan cricket alone.

If the spot fixing scandal hadn’t happened, I’m certain Pakistan would’ve won the 2011 WC. Salman Butt and Amir would’ve been invaluable additions to the team.

 

[Technics 1210]

Tendulkar.

His entire legacy demolished because he was clearly chasing records towards the end and ended up scoring his 100th 100 in a losing cause vs Bangladesh. How fitting.

His career in a sentence: SRT scored more runs, achieved more records, because of his longevity.

It's like saying water is wet.

 

[Mamoon]

Tendulkar.

His entire legacy demolished because he was clearly chasing records towards the end and ended up scoring his 100th 100 in a losing cause vs Bangladesh. How fitting.

His career in a sentence: SRT scored more runs, achieved more records, because of his longevity.

It's like saying water is wet.

Yes, Tendulkar’s legacy is demolished because an anonymous poster on an Internet forum says so.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Tendulkar.

His entire legacy demolished because he was clearly chasing records towards the end and ended up scoring his 100th 100 in a losing cause vs Bangladesh. How fitting.

His career in a sentence: SRT scored more runs, achieved more records, because of his longevity.

It's like saying water is wet.

I almost agree with 1st part of your post.

Your second part is nonsense though.

Afridi played for 22 years and was not even close to Tendulkar (dont give me the allrounder crap).

Jayasuriya played for 20 odd years too and never matched Tendulkar.
.
Just playing longer does not mean more records and runs.