Who is the greatest ever Asian Test cricketer?

[ahmedwaqas92]

Imran was Tall, Handsome, Oxford Educated, One of THE greatest minds of his generation and easily in the Top 5 captains of all Times and this is not even taking into account his unbelievable numbers in the Test Arena (The Greatest form of Cricket) both as a bowler and as a batsman.

I am gonna quote Peter Obrone here 'Imran Khan is probably the closest thing to a Global Figure Cricket has EVER PRODUCED' + Sharapova also knows who Imran Khan is !!

I'll excuse the Indians here for selecting Sachin since it's obvious why they did so but some Canadians who sing the Pakistan Zindabad nara all the time have really disappointed me here !! I guess they are well and truly not Pakistanis down to the core......

The problem with today's youngsters are that they don't read authors that have witnessed the bygone eras and base their opinions on recorded footage available on Youtube at best

 

[Ankit007]

Is this even a competition. Easily its Sachin Tendulkar. Best cricketer of all time probably just after don bradman and viv richards. Even that could be argued. And bradman and viv dont belong from asia so it is Sachin who is best from asia of all times. All othera can come 2nd 3rd or whatever they like...

 

[transitional]

I dont get why people underrate Tendulkar - the test cricketer so much. Lets not forget he played 200 tests, more than twice of Imran. To maintain a stellar record over that period is superhuman. Also, the way he conducted himself, carried burden of 100s of millions of people, inspired generations, cannot be quantified by just statistics. Yes, you got lot of good to great batsmen in late 2000s who averaged in 50s against somewhat inferior bowling attacks, but Tendulkar is playing since 1989. It was only him and Lara in the 90s, with Inzy to some extent. But Tendulkar kept playing through Kapil-Shastri era, terrible traveler era, fixing scandals, tennis elbow, arrival of fab 5, Greg Chappell, Dhoni-Kohli era. All the time generating a passion in Indian fans that no other countrymen can understand. People stopped watching TV after he got out, people stopped watching cricket after he retired.

 

[Tusker]

I dont get why people underrate Tendulkar - the test cricketer so much. Lets not forget he played 200 tests, more than twice of Imran. To maintain a stellar record over that period is superhuman. Also, the way he conducted himself, carried burden of 100s of millions of people, inspired generations, cannot be quantified by just statistics. Yes, you got lot of good to great batsmen in late 2000s who averaged in 50s against somewhat inferior bowling attacks, but Tendulkar is playing since 1989. It was only him and Lara in the 90s, with Inzy to some extent. But Tendulkar kept playing through Kapil-Shastri era, terrible traveler era, fixing scandals, tennis elbow, arrival of fab 5, Greg Chappell, Dhoni-Kohli era. All the time generating a passion in Indian fans that no other countrymen can understand. People stopped watching TV after he got out, people stopped watching cricket after he retired.

Its quite natural on a Pakistani forum with Imran in the mix ... but still Tendulkar is narrowly ahead in the poll

 

[DRsohail]

For me Tendulkar is the best ever Asian cricketer (2nd greatest after Bradman) due to having almost all batting records and longetivity..

Wasim Akram is second best..He is probably best ever left arm pacer..

Sunil Gavaskar is joint second 2nd greatest asian cricketer for me...Best opener of all time having stellar record against fast bowling..

Muttiah Muralidharan is third in my opinion..He is bowling version of SRT but only because of his action controversies, he is placed 3rd.

My list
1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Wasim Akram / Suniel Gavaskar
3. Muttiah Muralidharan
4. Imran Khan
5. Javed Miandad/Rahul Dravid/Waqar Younis

murli above imran..what a jokei think u are a stats follower..

 

[DRsohail]

Is this even a competition. Easily its Sachin Tendulkar. Best cricketer of all time probably just after don bradman and viv richards. Even that could be argued. And bradman and viv dont belong from asia so it is Sachin who is best from asia of all times. All othera can come 2nd 3rd or whatever they like...

regarding batting it can be arged,but but u never know what an all time great alrounder is..

 

[Tusker]

That was his biggest achievement true.

But he was also good against tests in West Indies which people don't remember.

And interestingly Imran played an awful innings in World Cup if I remember correctly, but was rescued by some other people at the end.

Imran was a good motivator and leader and that's why his team won the World Cup and he is remembered for that.

His best skills may not be ODI's.

My point is that Limited Overs Cricket is the most passionately followed form of cricket in Asia. Without that WC win Imran would have been largely forgotten or atleast never adored as much as he is now. Same thing for Kapil. Thats why its a little bit ingenious to see fans jump in to defend Imran the TEST Cricketer alone as it is impossible to remove the impressions and bias (due to ODI achievements) from your subconscious and rate the cricketer objectively purely on Test match credentials alone. Therefore its better to just rate them on the basis of their entire cricket careers which should obviously include the ODI's as well. Otherwise we will be kidding ourselves if we keep trying to tell that Cricket = Test Cricket ONLY. And once you bring in Limited overs cricket nobody comes close to Tendulkars mammoth achievements there. Kohli has a great chance as he has done some great things in ODI cricket.

 

[FlickedOffHips]

imran khan is the best all arounder, I'll give you that.

 

[apollo]

Dhoni is the best Asian cricketer ever. In an Indian TV show during the WT20 Imran himself accepted that Dhoni was better than him.

 

[Thivagar]

Best Cricketer = Imran Khan
Best Batsmen = Sachin
Best Bowler = Murali

"Best cricketer" must always be a captain or else how do you weigh a bowler's performance vs a batsman's performance ? Imran Khan was a great all rounder, great captain and hence he is the "best cricketer".

 

[Abdullah719]

Dhoni is the best Asian cricketer ever. In an Indian TV show during the WT20 Imran himself accepted that Dhoni was better than him.

I don't understand why people are bringing up 'so and so said so and so'.

The poll is added here for people to vote using their own God-gifted brains and ability to think and make logical deductions.

We can be influenced by people's views and take them into consideration, such as the view you stated (Imran said that about Dhoni regarding captaincy) but surely that shouldn't be the deciding factor.

 

[Bilal7]

Is this even a competition. Easily its Sachin Tendulkar. Best cricketer of all time probably just after don bradman and viv richards. Even that could be argued. And bradman and viv dont belong from asia so it is Sachin who is best from asia of all times. All othera can come 2nd 3rd or whatever they like...

Lol. How can someone who was a poor fielder, nothing more than a part-time bowler and an awful captain be the best "cricketer" from Asia? You're giving us a bad name.

Imran Khan was clearly the best Asian cricketer to have played the game.

 

[Bilal7]

So far nobody is touching my question ( 100s in successive tours with 1st one as a Teen) ... and I suppose Bradman and Wisden are not neutral anymore

It's a ridiculous question and you have been shifting goalposts ever since I named Shafiq. It's like me saying that Sachin could never score a triple century and so he is inferior to Inzamam. Or that he couldn't score in two WC finals which is why he is inferior to Ponting. These would actually be better criteria than the "scoring centuries as a teenager, while getting As on his science projects, and then going back to those countries three times..." lol-worthy rubbish you're spouting.

Also, why did Sachin become so mediocre when he was approaching 40? Younis scored a 200 when he was 40 years old.

 

[Tusker]

Lol. How can someone who was a poor fielder, nothing more than a part-time bowler and an awful captain be the best "cricketer" from Asia? You're giving us a bad name.

Imran Khan was clearly the best Asian cricketer to have played the game.

Poor fielder ? Really ? You will have to dig hard and long to find one single dropped catch by Tendulkar. And without Tendulkars wickets ( 3 wkts each IIRC that too of set top order batsmen ) the most famous Kolkatta Test and possibly the Adelaide Test would have been draws instead of wins. And in ODI's he has won games with his bowling.

watch these catches :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSEeDrMIKJA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poyfQS3RuvI

 

[Tusker]

It's a ridiculous question and you have been shifting goalposts ever since I named Shafiq. It's like me saying that Sachin could never score a triple century and so he is inferior to Inzamam. Or that he couldn't score in two WC finals which is why he is inferior to Ponting. These would actually be better criteria than the "scoring centuries as a teenager, while getting As on his science projects, and then going back to those countries three times..." lol-worthy rubbish you're spouting.

If you had bothered to read my post#17 clearly I mentioned Teenage part right at the beginning... And BTW its not just the age its the ability skill and longevity to keep doing it ... Thrice infact. So if you think scoring runs on 3 succesive tours to Eng, SA, Aus who had some great bowlers is a lol-worthy rubbish then you dont understand Test cricket and pretty obvious why nobody takes you seriously.

Also, why did Sachin become so mediocre when he was approaching 40? Younis scored a 200 when he was 40 years old.

YK is 38 yrs old ... at about the same Age Tendulkar scored runs against Steyn and Co and was the leading run scorer for India in the 2011 WC.

And I see you quietly skipped my comment about neutrals ( Bradman not rating Imran ) ?

 

[Barragan]

The great Imran Khan.

 

[Ankit007]

Lol. How can someone who was a poor fielder, nothing more than a part-time bowler and an awful captain be the best "cricketer" from Asia? You're giving us a bad name.

Imran Khan was clearly the best Asian cricketer to have played the game.

Sachin was a very good fielder.

Indeed he was a part time bowler but not everyone has to be an all rounder to be greatest. His batting was superior to all and his bowling just added more stars

Imran was best all rounder I can say but not best ever cricketer from Asia.

Sachin stayed and coped to the cricket change as per modern era which Imran could never would and he never did.

Sachin was best batsman in the world but was Imran best ever all rounder? Perhaps no... there have been better...

 

[Pantani]

Murali. I don't think anybody will ever cross 67 five-fors, 22 ten-fors and 800 wickets in tests. Plus since he took the bulk of his wickets at home, he would have bowled on the same 'roads' which are routinely cited against Sangakkara and Jayawardene; Murali's record is even greater.

 

[Pantani]

Also Murali basically turned a minnow country into a genuine contender that could beat any team on its day, all by himself. Without him Sri Lanka might have remained minnows in tests up until today.

 

[Anik Sharma]

My top 7 list-

1. Imran
2. Akram
3. Murali
4. Waqar
5. Sangakkara
6. Sachin
7. Miandad

 

[Midwinter13992]

Sachin Tendulkar...Hands Down

 

[Bilal7]

Sachin was a very good fielder.

Indeed he was a part time bowler but not everyone has to be an all rounder to be greatest. His batting was superior to all and his bowling just added more stars

Imran was best all rounder I can say but not best ever cricketer from Asia.

Sachin stayed and coped to the cricket change as per modern era which Imran could never would and he never did.

Sachin was best batsman in the world but was Imran best ever all rounder? Perhaps no... there have been better...

Sachin was a poor fielder. Short, slightly chubby and unathletic men tend to not make the best of fielders. Even if the truth lies somewhere between mine and your comments, he was not as good as Imran in the fielding department.

Sachin is behind Bradman, Viv, Sobers and arguably, Lara in the batting department. Imran is the best all-rounder of all time and arguably, behind only Marshall with the ball.

What exactly do you mean by Sachin coped with cricket change, lol? Imran and his generation were among the first ones to experience the rising popularity of ODIs, neutral umpires, etc.

Just for fun: Imran was a better batsman than Sachin in WC finals, the grandest stage of batsmanship.

If you had bothered to read my post#17 clearly I mentioned Teenage part right at the beginning... And BTW its not just the age its the ability skill and longevity to keep doing it ... Thrice infact. So if you think scoring runs on 3 succesive tours to Eng, SA, Aus who had some great bowlers is a lol-worthy rubbish then you dont understand Test cricket and pretty obvious why nobody takes you seriously.



YK is 38 yrs old ... at about the same Age Tendulkar scored runs against Steyn and Co and was the leading run scorer for India in the 2011 WC.

And I see you quietly skipped my comment about neutrals ( Bradman not rating Imran ) ?

Since you don't "take me seriously", I will not engage with you on this topic any further after rebutting you one last time. Do not run after me to reply to your queries like you always do.

Younis is 40 years old. Get your facts straight.

Once again, this is international cricket, not age group cricket and it doesn't matter what a player did when they were 'x' years old because different teams have different cultures. The English and Australian teams do not throw youngsters to the wolves like the Asian teams used to do.

What matters is where he ended up and he ended up behind Bradman, Viv, Sobers and arguably Lara. It doesn't matter if Sachin was better than these guys at 16, just like it doesn't matter that Amir was the best 17 year old pacer ever.

I don't know what your criteria here is. Scoring runs on three tours of those countries? Why this magical three number? Why not use four tours of England or five tours of Australia as your criteria? Just because Sachin didn't do it and it doesn't fit your narrative?

Also, why not use Sachin's missing triple century as one of the benchmarks to rate batsmen? You are obviously the most biased Sachin maniac to ever visit PP.

Bradman said that he doesn't rate Imran? Please provide proof for your outlandish statements next time. If you're talking about his World XI, then that's another dumb argument. Didn't Boycott exclude Sachin from his XI?

 

[Bilal7]

Sachin, Wasim and Murali were the batsman, fast bowler and spin bowler versions of the same ATG player, respectively. Extremely similar impact in their respective fields.

 

[Tusker]

Sachin was a poor fielder. Short, slightly chubby and unathletic men tend to not make the best of fielders. Even if the truth lies somewhere between mine and your comments, he was not as good as Imran in the fielding department.

Sachin is behind Bradman, Viv, Sobers and arguably, Lara in the batting department. Imran is the best all-rounder of all time and arguably, behind only Marshall with the ball.

What exactly do you mean by Sachin coped with cricket change, lol? Imran and his generation were among the first ones to experience the rising popularity of ODIs, neutral umpires, etc.

Just for fun: Imran was a better batsman than Sachin in WC finals, the grandest stage of batsmanship.



Since you don't "take me seriously", I will not engage with you on this topic any further after rebutting you one last time. Do not run after me to reply to your queries like you always do.

Younis is 40 years old. Get your facts straight.

YK Age ( 39 yrs now) : http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/43652.html

Once again, this is international cricket, not age group cricket and it doesn't matter what a player did when they were 'x' years old because different teams have different cultures. The English and Australian teams do not throw youngsters to the wolves like the Asian teams used to do.

And only the special survive. thats the point !! It took Imran many many years to compete at that level. Understand the point !

What matters is where he ended up and he ended up behind Bradman, Viv, Sobers and arguably Lara. It doesn't matter if Sachin was better than these guys at 16, just like it doesn't matter that Amir was the best 17 year old pacer ever.

And he ended right at the Top ... you can pretend otherwise but it isnt going to change things.

I don't know what your criteria here is. Scoring runs on three tours of those countries? Why this magical three number? Why not use four tours of England or five tours of Australia as your criteria? Just because Sachin didn't do it and it doesn't fit your narrative?

Because Great Cricketers get to play about 3-4 away tours to those countries. No batsman has ever been so consistent.

Also, why not use Sachin's missing triple century as one of the benchmarks to rate batsmen? You are obviously the most biased Sachin maniac to ever visit PP.

Because triple hundreds dont tell you how good a batsman you are but performances in difficult conditions + great bowlers are a better indicator of batting skills .... unless you believe that Right now Karun Nair and Gayle are better than Tendulkar.

Bradman said that he doesn't rate Imran? Please provide proof for your outlandish statements next time. If you're talking about his World XI, then that's another dumb argument. Didn't Boycott exclude Sachin from his XI?

See post#39 ... here is the link again --> http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/96131.html
Imran wasnt part of the 69 shortlisted cricketers by Bradman (never mind being the final XI). And I used that to disprove your theory that most neutrals would pick Imran over Tendulkar.

Why Boycott didnt pick Tendulkar :


When picking my team I would not select anyone still playing. That is why I haven’t included Sachin Tendulkar. It is not fair to pick someone still playing. When he retires we can judge him and he would then get in everyone’s best XI. Mine too. He’s an icon of the game. And more importantly, he is a Yorkshireman!!



Link : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cr...Dream-XI-is-a-joke-it-has-no-credibility.html

And I don't run after you ... but I must admit that it is very tempting to nudge you into making some of those hilarious comments that you make. Don't ever stop ... this forum would be a very boring place otherwise .. Cheers.

 

[CricFan007]

That was his biggest achievement true.

But he was also good against tests in West Indies which people don't remember.

And interestingly Imran played an awful innings in World Cup if I remember correctly, but was rescued by some other people at the end.

Imran was a good motivator and leader and that's why his team won the World Cup and he is remembered for that.

His best skills may not be ODI's.

If I remember correctly, it was not anyone who saved imran khan...or won the world cup...it was rain that gave Pakistan point which made them qualified for semi final or quarter final or else that game was almost over with such a low total etc.

Anyone remember that? so much of leadership talk about Imran but if it wasn't for rain...Pak would have not won the world cup.

 

[Napa]

If I remember correctly, it was not anyone who saved imran khan...or won the world cup...it was rain that gave Pakistan point which made them qualified for semi final or quarter final or else that game was almost over with such a low total etc.

Anyone remember that? so much of leadership talk about Imran but if it wasn't for rain...Pak would have not won the world cup.

I do remember Pakistan all out for 74, and England 24/1 after 8 overs... till rain interrupted play and gave Pakistan equal points enabling them to proceed to the semi-finals.

 

[Bilal7]

If I remember correctly, it was not anyone who saved imran khan...or won the world cup...it was rain that gave Pakistan point which made them qualified for semi final or quarter final or else that game was almost over with such a low total etc.

Anyone remember that? so much of leadership talk about Imran but if it wasn't for rain...Pak would have not won the world cup.

And dropped catches were the only way Tendulker could win a WC. All this luck balances out in the end.

 

[Hawkeye]

Haha. Didn't I'd see this day.

Parosis overtaking members on a Pak forum, outnumbering Paks by some margin.

Come on folks, let's be real and neutral. Nobody's bigger than Imran from Asia, in fact he's competing with greats of the game! Not just Asia.

 

[Chrish]

you have to be schizophrenic to believe that IK is the greatest all-rounder or 2nd only to Marshall as a pacer..

If you don't care for distinction btw batting vs bowling all-rounder then he is clearly behind Sobers and fighting for the 2nd spot with Miller and Kallis. Similarly he would arguably make top 10 pace bowlers at best.

Sachin is behind Bradman and fighting for the 2nd spot with few others as well.

 

[blue_champion]

You have to come with a caveat of test cricket,A/r,this that to make a case for Imran

As a total cricketer across formats Sachin,Wasim,Murali followed by Imran(maybe) or even a case for Sangakkara and others there.

If tests is the criteria then it is Sachin,Murali and Yes Imran might get in to no.3 Slot

 

[blue_champion]

And dropped catches were the only way Tendulker could win a WC. All this luck balances out in the end.

Well, drop catches were due to incompetence of the opposition which means it was a well deserved victory of Sachin's team....saved by teh rain when you are staring at defeat that is a different animal altogether

 

[Bilal7]

Well, drop catches were due to incompetence of the opposition which means it was a well deserved victory of Sachin's team....saved by teh rain when you are staring at defeat that is a different animal altogether

Not incompetence, it was being lucky. Any other day and Misbah and Younis, who are pretty good catchers, would have taken those catches. At the end of the day, luck is luck is luck is luck.

 

[Abdullah719]

Well, drop catches were due to incompetence of the opposition which means it was a well deserved victory of Sachin's team....saved by teh rain when you are staring at defeat that is a different animal altogether

At the end of the day, it was Pakistan that defeated New Zealand and England in the semi-final and final, not rain.

Destiny.

 

[Bilal7]

You have to come with a caveat of test cricket,A/r,this that to make a case for Imran

As a total cricketer across formats Sachin,Wasim,Murali followed by Imran(maybe) or even a case for Sangakkara and others there.

If tests is the criteria then it is Sachin,Murali and Yes Imran might get in to no.3 Slot

"Total cricketer" that was nothing more than a part-timer, shoddy fielder and awful captain. Sachin would be useless for half of a cricket match, Imran would be crucial throughout one. It's pretty clear who's comfortably ahead.

 

[Bilal7]

At the end of the day, it was Pakistan that defeated New Zealand and England in the semi-final and final, not rain.

Destiny.

With Imran playing a crucial, match-winning innings in the final. Not sure about Sachin's record in World Cup finals though.

 

[Hasan123]

Imran followed by sachin. If it's on one pure skill than its sachin but as an overall crickter it's easily Imran.

 

[Cricket-passion]

Imran hands down for three things, his solid batting, his match winning perfomrances with bowling and the most prescious ability to handle most difficult team of them all as a captain. He is the most complete cricketer that has come from Asia. He is the only Asian cricketer to feature in Boycott's world XI.

 

[Cricket-passion]

you have to be schizophrenic to believe that IK is the greatest all-rounder or 2nd only to Marshall as a pacer..

If you don't care for distinction btw batting vs bowling all-rounder then he is clearly behind Sobers and fighting for the 2nd spot with Miller and Kallis. Similarly he would arguably make top 10 pace bowlers at best.

Sachin is behind Bradman and fighting for the 2nd spot with few others as well.

if it ever comes down to choosing between IK and Sachin, or IK and Murali, or IK and Wasim, it will always be IK above all other three. He brings more to the table and he will be the captain as well. So good luck Sachin, Akram and Murali in finding a spot in the team if the criteria is to compete with IK for the spot.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Imran Khan easily.

Not only was this man great in all facets of the game, he alone changed Pakistan cricket. You can always find another great batsmen but all rounders like Imran are once in a generation.

 

[Romali_rotti]

And dropped catches were the only way Tendulker could win a WC. All this luck balances out in the end.

Dropped catches highlights a teams incomptence, its not luck. Weather is outside of player performance or leadership so that is pure luck. Imran def had the luck factor otherwise he would not won that 92 wc, which means no cornered tiger speech and may have had to live in the shadow of Kapil Dev till the end of time.

 

[Romali_rotti]

if it ever comes down to choosing between IK and Sachin, or IK and Murali, or IK and Wasim, it will always be IK above all other three. He brings more to the table and he will be the captain as well. So good luck Sachin, Akram and Murali in finding a spot in the team if the criteria is to compete with IK for the spot.

Yeap agreed with your statement if you are a pakistani. Majority of rest of the world wouldnt think this way though lol..

 

[Chrish]

if it ever comes down to choosing between IK and Sachin, or IK and Murali, or IK and Wasim, it will always be IK above all other three. He brings more to the table and he will be the captain as well. So good luck Sachin, Akram and Murali in finding a spot in the team if the criteria is to compete with IK for the spot.

Not really.. Depends on your preference of creating world XI. I can create XI without including any of these 4 players without suffering in quality. All of them are replaceable as far as I am concerned

And apart from Wasim vs Imran, none of them would be competing for the same spot. Sachin the bat, Imran the pacer and Murali the spinner. So it's apple to orange comparison.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

People fail to realize that Kohli will probably, in all likeliness, break every single record that Sachin has made all throughout his career. While on the other hand the entire Sub Continent cannot save their lives to produce another IK ever again !!

For this reason alone I will put IK ahead of Sachin.... Nevermind the ATG records IK holds being THE GREATEST ALROUNDER EVER !!

 

[Ankit007]

Sachin was a poor fielder. Short, slightly chubby and unathletic men tend to not make the best of fielders. Even if the truth lies somewhere between mine and your comments, he was not as good as Imran in the fielding department.

Sachin is behind Bradman, Viv, Sobers and arguably, Lara in the batting department. Imran is the best all-rounder of all time and arguably, behind only Marshall with the ball.

What exactly do you mean by Sachin coped with cricket change, lol? Imran and his generation were among the first ones to experience the rising popularity of ODIs, neutral umpires, etc.

Just for fun: Imran was a better batsman than Sachin in WC finals, the grandest stage of batsmanship.

I cant comment on how good a fielder was Imran but I have seen Sachin fielding, he rarely dropped any catch. And regarding ground fielding, I can give you example of India vs SA match where he stopped a boundary diving on fence in an amazing athletic manner and won India match by one run. And he was 35 or 36 that time. so he was a very good fielder

Brian Lara averages lesser than Sachin, has lesser amount of runs and played for lesser time. Also both had same set of bowlers to play for most of their career. Sachin was only behind Viv in ODIs and Bradman in tests. I wont count Gary Sobers ahead of him too. Can count him on par with him.

Sachin maintained and improved his skillset as per the modern era requirements over the span of 24 year career. What more do you think Imran had and Sachin didnt?

He was better batsman and part time bowler. Imran was better bowler and not that great batsman.

Imran is not the best all rounder ever. Kallis, Marshall, Garfield Sobers all were better than him.

And what captaincy Imran you are talking about. He just won 14 out of 48 tests... And Dhoni as overall cricketer is better than Imran Khan I can say....

Imran was no way better than Sachin as a cricketer....

 

[Ankit007]

^ Dhoni can keep wickets and best Asian keeper of all time he is. Imran was a bowler. And Dhoni has much better captaincy and batting records.... SO the conclusion?

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Dhoni has a legacy of 0-8 to his name and quite frankly ATG Captains are seen on what they did in TEST SERIES ABROAD playing against the best in the world... In that regard Dhoni looses a lot of points and I would put Misbah, IK, Ganguly as better subcontinent captains ahead of him...

Plus for keepering there is no other greater wicket keeper batsman from Asia than Sangakara who in test matches is head, tails and shoulders above any thing Dhoni brings to the table...[SUP][/SUP]

 

[Tusker]

People fail to realize that Kohli will probably, in all likeliness, break every single record that Sachin has made all throughout his career. While on the other hand the entire Sub Continent cannot save their lives to produce another IK ever again !!

For this reason alone I will put IK ahead of Sachin.... Nevermind the ATG records IK holds being THE GREATEST ALROUNDER EVER !!

Have a look at Ashwins A/R stats ... he already has One more 5fer and 10fer than IK and has 4 x 100s ... will certainly go past most of Imrans A/R achievements ( Wkts and Runs ). Infact he is just 115 wkts short of IK wkt tally .. should get there in next 2-3 yrs.

But it will take some doing for Kohli to score another 11K runs and 35 Test Hundreds. That is sooo far away that it cannot even be thought of right now. Even his ODI stats are some distance away from Kohli.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Have a look at Ashwins A/R stats ... he already has One more 5fer and 10fer than IK and has 4 x 100s ... will certainly go past most of Imrans A/R achievements ( Wkts and Runs ). Infact he is just 115 wkts short of IK wkt tally .. should get there in next 2-3 yrs.

But it will take some doing for Kohli to score another 11K runs and 35 Test Hundreds. That is sooo far away that it cannot even be thought of right now. Even his ODI stats are some distance away from Kohli.

The point of that post was that Imran as a WHOLE PACKAGE brings everything to the table, Batting, Bowling Fielding, Captaincy, Strategics, Looks, Education, Royalty..... EVERY GOD DAMN IMAGINABLE.

The fact that we have to pull near ATG level players to downplay one segment of his achievements shows the stature and credibility of him being the greatest Asian Cricketer Ever !! Plus he is the only captain to remain undefeated in a series (Both Home and Away) against the Mighty West Indies during the 80s which unanimously is considered the GREATEST TEAM of ALL TIMES.....

Don't take my word for it, read cricket historians and writers (recommended: Peter Orbrone) who have covered cricket during the late 70s and on wards and then do an honest assessment yourself. Also if you have any neutral peers that have watched cricket during those eras please go and take their opinion as well....

For starters let's ask the seniors on this Bulletin Board [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION]

 

[Rayyman]

With Imran playing a crucial, match-winning innings in the final. Not sure about Sachin's record in World Cup finals though.

The latter got a beauty from Malinga iirc.

 

[Sachin136]

The point of that post was that Imran as a WHOLE PACKAGE brings everything to the table, Batting, Bowling Fielding, Captaincy, Strategics, Looks, Education, Royalty..... EVERY GOD DAMN IMAGINABLE.

The fact that we have to pull near ATG level players to downplay one segment of his achievements shows the stature and credibility of him being the greatest Asian Cricketer Ever !! Plus he is the only captain to remain undefeated in a series (Both Home and Away) against the Mighty West Indies during the 80s which unanimously is considered the GREATEST TEAM of ALL TIMES.....

Don't take my word for it, read cricket historians and writers (recommended: Peter Orbrone) who have covered cricket during the late 70s and on wards and then do an honest assessment yourself. Also if you have any neutral peers that have watched cricket during those eras please go and take their opinion as well....

For starters let's ask the seniors on this Bulletin Board [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION]

Charisma, impact, inspiration etc I can understand (which Sachin was abundant in), but looks, education and royalty?

Ashwin is not a near ATG level player.

 

[Tusker]

The point of that post was that Imran as a WHOLE PACKAGE brings everything to the table, Batting, Bowling Fielding, Captaincy, Strategics, Looks, Education, Royalty..... EVERY GOD DAMN IMAGINABLE.

Out of all that only Batting Bowling Fielding matter the most followed by ODI achievements and then followed by Captaincy and Tendulkar is a *THE* best batsman of his time whereas Imran was neither the Best Bowler or Batsman of his time. Infact he is not even close to being in the top 3 Bowlers of his time. That list is topped by Marshall, Wasim, DKL. Nobody cares about looks and education.

Tendulkar has more than 4 times the catches that Imran took ( twice if you account for matches played) and I can assure you that he never believed in diving. Whereas I can show you a 36 year old Tendulkar diving on the boundary to save a single and the team won by 1 Run.

The fact that we have to pull near ATG level players to downplay one segment of his achievements shows the stature and credibility of him being the greatest Asian Cricketer Ever !! Plus he is the only captain to remain undefeated in a series (Both Home and Away) against the Mighty West Indies during the 80s which unanimously is considered the GREATEST TEAM of ALL TIMES.....

Not sure what you mean by "pull near ATG players ...." But the team that is widely recognized as the best WI Team was the one that played under Clive Lloyd. Imran never won anyhing against that team and the one and only match that Pak won IN WI was when Marshall and Viv Richards were missing and Holding + Roberts+ Lloyd+ Garner had long retired.

Don't take my word for it, read cricket historians and writers (recommended: Peter Orbrone) who have covered cricket during the late 70s and on wards and then do an honest assessment yourself. Also if you have any neutral peers that have watched cricket during those eras please go and take their opinion as well....

For starters let's ask the seniors on this Bulletin Board [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION]

I know my cricket history very well and I also know the perils of trusting second hand information. None of it is reliable because nobody in their right mind will dissect a players abilities and lay bare the negatives. If you notice all these Expert opinions are generally only rich in platitudes. There is rarely ever any disparaging comment or critical analysis put forward that counts as close scrutiny. Such things weren't done in those days. People could easily get away claiming that XYZ was the phashtesth ever. Without a speed gun to counter that who will bother to question the author ?

 

[street cricketer]

The point of that post was that Imran as a WHOLE PACKAGE brings everything to the table, Batting, Bowling Fielding, Captaincy, Strategics, Looks, Education, Royalty..... EVERY GOD DAMN IMAGINABLE.

Not to mention his craze and popularity among women. Heard from a pper here that once there was a mad craze for Imran among the women in America and Australia during his playing days especially during his Kerry Packer days. Sachin was an all time great player in his own right, but can he command the same popularity? Nope. Definitely not Murali too.

These things do matter when we're talking about legendary players. Messi is a legend no doubt but he will never command the same mad craze among fans that Ronaldo does with his looks.

 

[silent ischemia]

Pakistanis will say Immy, Indians will say SRT. Both is fine imo.

Not really
Akram for me; more skillful and a bigger match winner than imran.
Captaincy is not everything

 

[Bilal7]

Dropped catches highlights a teams incomptence, its not luck. Weather is outside of player performance or leadership so that is pure luck. Imran def had the luck factor otherwise he would not won that 92 wc, which means no cornered tiger speech and may have had to live in the shadow of Kapil Dev till the end of time.

No, four dropped catches highlights Sachin's luck and his own incompetence more than the Pakistanis. Misbah and Younis are very good catchers and would have taken those catches on any other day.

Yeah, perhaps. However, what really happened is that Imran captained his team to the finals and in the final match, played a match-winning innings which Sachin was unable to do because he was a choker at the grandest stage of them all. And now, Kapil Dev will continue to live in Imran's shadow for all of eternity.

Have fun in your alternate reality though, where Imran didn't win the WC and Sachin averaged 100 in test cricket.

I cant comment on how good a fielder was Imran but I have seen Sachin fielding, he rarely dropped any catch. And regarding ground fielding, I can give you example of India vs SA match where he stopped a boundary diving on fence in an amazing athletic manner and won India match by one run. And he was 35 or 36 that time. so he was a very good fielder

Brian Lara averages lesser than Sachin, has lesser amount of runs and played for lesser time. Also both had same set of bowlers to play for most of their career. Sachin was only behind Viv in ODIs and Bradman in tests. I wont count Gary Sobers ahead of him too. Can count him on par with him.

Sachin maintained and improved his skillset as per the modern era requirements over the span of 24 year career. What more do you think Imran had and Sachin didnt?

He was better batsman and part time bowler. Imran was better bowler and not that great batsman.

Imran is not the best all rounder ever. Kallis, Marshall, Garfield Sobers all were better than him.

And what captaincy Imran you are talking about. He just won 14 out of 48 tests... And Dhoni as overall cricketer is better than Imran Khan I can say....

Imran was no way better than Sachin as a cricketer....

Much wow. Diving to save a couple of runs definitely makes Sachin a very good fielder, lol. He was a mediocre fielder even in his prime and later on, well the great Nasser Hussain said it best, "donkeys...".

See, with you Indians it's always about the numbers and longevity, eh? Lara played innings that Sachin simply could not play. Lara has a 400 while Sachin's highest test score is a 200. This arguably makes Lara the better batsman.

With regards to Bradman, Viv and Sobers, Sachin is simply not as good as them. There is no doubt about this and I will not expand on this any more because this thread is Imran vs Sachin, not Sachin vs Viv/Sobers. Do keep in mind though that Bradman averaged double that of Sachin, Viv destroyed bowlers without a helmet and Sobers is Sobers.

Imran was 40 when he finally retired, having played a match-winning innings to win Pakistan the WC. You wanted him to stay around for another 20 years just so he could play in the modern era? This is a ridiculously bad argument. What are you even saying?

Imran the bowler was as good as Sachin the batsman. Imran the batsman was lightyears ahead of Sachin's part-time rubbish. Imran was also the better fielder and he comparing their captaincy is like comparing the intelligence of Albert Einstein and Kanye West.

Imran is the best all-rounder of all time. Kallis barely averaged a single wicket per innings, Sobers had mediocre bowling stats and Marshall? He was a bowler.

You have to be joking with that last paragraph of yours. Read about some of his duels with the greatest team of all time.

 

[Bilal7]

^ Dhoni can keep wickets and best Asian keeper of all time he is. Imran was a bowler. And Dhoni has much better captaincy and batting records.... SO the conclusion?

The conclusion is that he's probably a better test player than Umar Akmal, Faisal Iqbal, Raina and UV.

 

[Belawal2014]

Not really
Akram for me; more skillful and a bigger match winner than imran.
Captaincy is not everything

In what way? Are you considering his exploits in ODIs only? Cuz Immy >> Waz in tests (#s will prove that as well) Also a better ODI and TEST batsman. Only thing Waz has over Immy is his ODI bowling and if that's enough for you to go with Waz then good for you.

 

[Romali_rotti]

No, four dropped catches highlights Sachin's luck and his own incompetence more than the Pakistanis. Misbah and Younis are very good catchers and would have taken those catches on any other day.


Good lord 4 catches dropped is due to Sachin's luck and not your team's incompetence ? ) This statement above proves your blind,biased, insecure Pakistaniness lol , this is EPIC..

Yeah, perhaps. However, what really happened is that Imran captained his team to the finals and in the final match, played a match-winning innings which Sachin was unable to do because he was a choker at the grandest stage of them all. And now, Kapil Dev will continue to live in Imran's shadow for all of eternity.


Err, I never said Kapil was better than Imran, has he had better moments than Imran at times ? of course he has but overall Imran is the better player no one would argue that. However, the mere fact that Dev didn't have to achieve what Imran achieved to keep Imran in his shadow had rain (LUCK) not intervened, giving him a WC, shows it doesn't take much to eclipse Imran .

.


Have fun in your alternate reality though, where Imran didn't win the WC and Sachin averaged 100 in test cricket.

What really happened was SRT is considered the second greatest batsmen by majority of the world (Bradman himself said SRT reminded him of himself the way SRT played. Listen from 1:40 onward below from the greatest batsmen of all time), while not many would rate Imran in the top 3 greatest of all time as a bowler or a batsmen barring of course you Pakistanis.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HAjg0IbAsmc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Bold....

 

[gani999]

Pakistanis will say Immy, Indians will say SRT. Both is fine imo.

I am an Indian and I don't think SRT is the greatest ever Asian cricketer.

For me it is a close one between Kapil and Imran, with Imran slightly ahead.

 

[Robert]

Imran is not the best all rounder ever. Kallis, Marshall, Garfield Sobers all were better than him.

And what captaincy Imran you are talking about. He just won 14 out of 48 tests... And Dhoni as overall cricketer is better than Imran Khan I can say....

But those guys were not from Asia so irrelevant to this discussion.

As for Imran's captaincy record there were a lot of drawn matches in those days, particularly in Asia. Batters were just better at saving matches than their modern counterparts.

If I had to pick an ATG Asian side Imran would be #1 pick, then Gavaskar, then Miandad. Those two guys never took a step back. Tendulkar was vulnerable under pressure at times, leaving the hard yards to Dravid or VVS, which is why I rate Gavaskar and Miandad higher.

 

[Belawal2014]

I am an Indian and I don't think SRT is the greatest ever Asian cricketer.

For me it is a close one between Kapil and Imran, with Imran slightly ahead.

Some Pakistanis have also voted for SRT, so it's all a matter of preference.

 

[Romali_rotti]

Tendulkar was vulnerable under pressure at times, leaving the hard yards to Dravid or VVS, which is why I rate Gavaskar and Miandad higher.

Yeah agreed, it really showed on Dravid's stats in South Africa and Aus, SRT was under pressure and failed constantly while Dravid came to the party...

 

[enkidu_]

1. Imran Khan
2. Murali
3. SRT/Wasim Akram

 

[Ab Fan]

But those guys were not from Asia so irrelevant to this discussion.

As for Imran's captaincy record there were a lot of drawn matches in those days, particularly in Asia. Batters were just better at saving matches than their modern counterparts.

If I had to pick an ATG Asian side Imran would be #1 pick, then Gavaskar, then Miandad. Those two guys never took a step back. Tendulkar was vulnerable under pressure at times, leaving the hard yards to Dravid or VVS, which is why I rate Gavaskar and Miandad higher.

Who all would you have in your top5 Asian cricketers list ?

 

[Robert]

Who all would you have in your top5 Asian cricketers list ?

Maybe Imran, Gavaskar, Miandad, Tendulkar and Wasim. Or Sanga. Or Kapil. Hard to say, so many excellent ones.

 

[gani999]

I cannot understand why some people are voting for Murali and Sanga, but to each his own.

For me, greatness in cricket is more than just scoring runs and taking wickets.

Imran not only led Pakistan to the 1992 WC victory, he was also responsible for mentoring a lot of young players, managing some power centres like Miandad, and making a world beating team by getting the best out of everyone.

To me he has to be the greatest Asian cricketer ever so far.

The next in line has to be Kapil Dev. He led India to the 1982 WC victory by beating the mighty West Indies in the final. Most of you don't know that India was pretty much a minnow side back then. The 1982 WC victory by India is akin to Zimbabwe beating Australia in a WC final in the modern context.
However, Kapil hardly mentored anyone, and got involved in the match fixing fiasco. So he has to rank below Imran.

Sachin Tendulkar was a great batsman but was a flop as a captain. Same with Gavaskar, although he arguably was a better captain than SRT.

If I have to put in a no 3, it would have to be Saurav Ganguly. He gave India the confidence to play big, something his successors like MSD exploited to the fullest.

 

[Hitman]

I cannot understand why some people are voting for Murali and Sanga, but to each his own.

For me, greatness in cricket is more than just scoring runs and taking wickets.

Imran not only led Pakistan to the 1992 WC victory, he was also responsible for mentoring a lot of young players, managing some power centres like Miandad, and making a world beating team by getting the best out of everyone.

To me he has to be the greatest Asian cricketer ever so far.

The next in line has to be Kapil Dev. He led India to the 1982 WC victory by beating the mighty West Indies in the final. Most of you don't know that India was pretty much a minnow side back then. The 1982 WC victory by India is akin to Zimbabwe beating Australia in a WC final in the modern context.
However, Kapil hardly mentored anyone, and got involved in the match fixing fiasco. So he has to rank below Imran.

Sachin Tendulkar was a great batsman but was a flop as a captain. Same with Gavaskar, although he arguably was a better captain than SRT.

If I have to put in a no 3, it would have to be Saurav Ganguly. He gave India the confidence to play big, something his successors like MSD exploited to the fullest.

Is it about the best captains or the best cricketers?

 

[Indiafan]

Yeah agreed, it really showed on Dravid's stats in South Africa and Aus, SRT was under pressure and failed constantly while Dravid came to the party...

You are joking here right?

 

[Indiafan]

But those guys were not from Asia so irrelevant to this discussion.

As for Imran's captaincy record there were a lot of drawn matches in those days, particularly in Asia. Batters were just better at saving matches than their modern counterparts.

If I had to pick an ATG Asian side Imran would be #1 pick, then Gavaskar, then Miandad. Those two guys never took a step back. Tendulkar was vulnerable under pressure at times, leaving the hard yards to Dravid or VVS, which is why I rate Gavaskar and Miandad higher.

Like when Sachin scored an unbeaten 100 in the highest chase in India ever, 387? Dravid and Laxman had as many 4th innings winning knocks as Sachin, it is just that being under-dogs they were praised much more but when Sachin has an epic unbeaten 100 in the highest chase, it gets ignored because you know - big deal

 

[Hitman]

You are joking here right?

He was being sarcastic.

 

[Indiafan]

He was being sarcastic.

Yeah, thats what I thought

 

[gani999]

Is it about the best captains or the best cricketers?

Both. Man management is an important part of overall greatness.

Imran was an outstanding captain and an excellent cricketer.

 

[Hitman]

Both. Man management is an important part of overall greatness.

Imran was an outstanding captain and an excellent cricketer.

But how does that make Sourav Ganguly a better cricketer than Sachin and Sunny?

 

[Ab Fan]

Maybe Imran, Gavaskar, Miandad, Tendulkar and Wasim. Or Sanga. Or Kapil. Hard to say, so many excellent ones.

Thanks.

 

[ali ray]

Ashwin

 

[IcedEarth]

Imran easily.

I don't think Sachin is the greatest ever matchwinner for India. That goes to Kumble and Kapil Dev.

 

[IcedEarth]

I cannot understand why some people are voting for Murali and Sanga, but to each his own.

For me, greatness in cricket is more than just scoring runs and taking wickets.

Imran not only led Pakistan to the 1992 WC victory, he was also responsible for mentoring a lot of young players, managing some power centres like Miandad, and making a world beating team by getting the best out of everyone.

To me he has to be the greatest Asian cricketer ever so far.

The next in line has to be Kapil Dev. He led India to the 1982 WC victory by beating the mighty West Indies in the final. Most of you don't know that India was pretty much a minnow side back then. The 1982 WC victory by India is akin to Zimbabwe beating Australia in a WC final in the modern context.
However, Kapil hardly mentored anyone, and got involved in the match fixing fiasco. So he has to rank below Imran.

Sachin Tendulkar was a great batsman but was a flop as a captain. Same with Gavaskar, although he arguably was a better captain than SRT.

If I have to put in a no 3, it would have to be Saurav Ganguly. He gave India the confidence to play big, something his successors like MSD exploited to the fullest.

Irrelevent as we are talking about test matches.

Otherwise the ATG ODI all rounder of Asia would be Sanath Jayasuriya. WC winner, a good captain, destructive batsman, quality spinner who can bowl at the death and a elite fieldsman.

 

[Hitman]

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...f-Cricket-Top-25-Cricketers-Of-All-Time/page3

David Gower who played in the time of Imran Khan, his list of his 'Top 50 Cricketers Of All Time' -

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...id-Gower-s-50-Greatest-Cricketers-of-All-Time

 

[hussain123]

Imran khan.

 

[waleed88]

Sachin is better than Imran, this coming from a Pakistani...

Imran has always been very jealous of Sachin's popularity, and how larger than life he is, something that makes him insecure... he finds ways to say he isn't that great, saying Inzi is much better than him, or saying that Gavaskar was a bigger legend than him in his interviews..

 

[waleed88]

Imran is second only to Sachin however, a great cricketer himself, but Sachin is probably one of the 3 greatest players of all time