Who is the greatest ever Asian Test cricketer?

[Snatch]

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

Not outside the subcontinent he's not even close to the top 3 ever. But in India in Asia he's a god and better than Bradman, so we all keep hearing.

Imran is clearly the better Test cricketer, with few peers.

Tendulkar has several batsmen similar if not averaging a lot more.

 

[waleed88]

Not outside the subcontinent he's not even close to the top 3 ever. But in India in Asia he's a god and better than Bradman, so we all keep hearing.

Imran is clearly the better Test cricketer, with few peers.

Tendulkar has several batsmen similar if not averaging a lot more.

Subcontinent has more cricket watchers than any other place in the world... Sachin has more fans around the world than Imran Khan.. more critics rate him higher than Imran, more analyst say hes bigger than anyone else besides probably Bradman

 

[Hitman]

Not outside the subcontinent he's not even close to the top 3 ever. But in India in Asia he's a god and better than Bradman, so we all keep hearing.

Imran is clearly the better Test cricketer, with few peers.

Tendulkar has several batsmen similar if not averaging a lot more.

Yea. Outside Asia we have giants like Inzamam, Yousuf and Miandad. Such greats outside Asia.

 

[waleed88]

Not outside the subcontinent he's not even close to the top 3 ever. But in India in Asia he's a god and better than Bradman, so we all keep hearing.

Imran is clearly the better Test cricketer, with few peers.

Tendulkar has several batsmen similar if not averaging a lot more.

Sachin didn't have the background support Imran had as a cricketer, he was the elite of Pakistan, went to big schools (Aitchison College), studied in Oxford, got in expensive coaches to fix his bowling action, played in university leagues of Oxford.. hardly ever played in Pakistan domestics.. his cousins and uncle helped him in the side to play for Pakistan

Tendulkar didn't have all those luxuries, he was just a passionate boy who made it on passion alone

 

[waleed88]

Imran's off-field persona meant that had he not been a cricketer, he would've been some movie star, or atleast been a minister due to his high connections with notaries of Pakistan, came from a clan who was well in touch with General Zia and Hamid Gul of ISI.. his playboy image and persona are often mixed with his cricketing contributions to portray him as larger than life.. Meaning cricket wasn't the sole bread and butter for him

He's probably the only captain in Pakistan's history to captain them in 3 world cups... and I'm sure the chances of winning a world cup do increase largely when you captain it 3 times, rather than only once

 

[Abdullah719]

Sachin didn't have the background support Imran had as a cricketer, he was the elite of Pakistan, went to big schools (Aitchison College), studied in Oxford, got in expensive coaches to fix his bowling action, played in university leagues of Oxford.. hardly ever played in Pakistan domestics.. his cousins and uncle helped him in the side to play for Pakistan

Tendulkar didn't have all those luxuries, he was just a passionate boy who made it on passion alone

Yeah well, all the support IK got didn't make him one of the fast-bowlers and all-rounders of his time, it was his own effort and passion to improve as a cricketer. There's plenty of others who have had a lot of support as well but haven't made it, forget becoming one of the best. This is a moot point.

 

[waleed88]

Yeah well, all the support IK got didn't make him one of the fast-bowlers and all-rounders of his time, it was his own effort and passion to improve as a cricketer. There's plenty of others who have had a lot of support as well but haven't made it, forget becoming one of the best. This is a moot point.

Taking nothing away from the legend that is Imran Khan..

however its easier for you when you come from a system rather than finding your way out on your own...When he first played for Pak he didn't make the team on merit, he had his cousins and uncle who had played for Pakistan

 

[Romali_rotti]

Not outside the subcontinent he's not even close to the top 3 ever. But in India in Asia he's a god and better than Bradman, so we all keep hearing.

Imran is clearly the better Test cricketer, with few peers.

Tendulkar has several batsmen similar if not averaging a lot more.

This posts highlights your agenda, you made this thread for no specific purpose other than to discredit SRT, you hoped all the Pakistanis would jump in your plan to dismiss SRT. However to your dismay the poll after voting suggested SRT ahead of Imran on a Pakistani website lol, your statement that Bradman's wife found SRT similar to him has been proven to be false. Now your frustration has led to you taking shots on posters who acknowledge SRT. Let it go, count to 10, take a deep breath and accept reality............

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Hard to choose between Imran Khan and Wasim Akram; for obvious reasons.

Voted for IK

 

[Snatch]

This posts highlights your agenda, you made this thread for no specific purpose other than to discredit SRT, you hoped all the Pakistanis would jump in your plan to dismiss SRT. However to your dismay the poll after voting suggested SRT ahead of Imran on a Pakistani website lol, your statement that Bradman's wife found SRT similar to him has been proven to be false. Now your frustration has led to you taking shots on posters who acknowledge SRT. Let it go, count to 10, take a deep breath and accept reality............

Haha, agenda or opinion on a cricket forum? Is using the word 'agenda' supposed to dramatise it or something?

What I call expressing an opinion on cricket on a cricket forum (god forbid), you call an 'agenda'.

Perhaps it's a semantic thing. If opinion = agenda, I guess I plead guilty.

 

[Bilal7]

Bold....

Sachin was lucky that he was dropped four times and finally managed to win a WC, despite once again, choking in the finals like the mental midget that he was. Why is this hard to understand? To put it in other words, Sachin was getting owned by Afridi and Ajmal left and right at Mohali but kept getting lucky and survived until Ajmal finally put him out of his misery.

Kapil wouldn't have been a better cricketer that Imran even if he had two WCs and Imran had none. Or are you saying that Ponting is a bigger player than Sachin because not only did he thrice as many WCs, he also succeeded at the highest stage, unlike Tendulker?

No, only Indians and past experts pandering to or questioned by Indians believe this to be the case. Sachin is leagues below Bradman and is not a better batsman than Viv, Sobers and arguably, Lara.

 

[Chrish]

This posts highlights your agenda, you made this thread for no specific purpose other than to discredit SRT, you hoped all the Pakistanis would jump in your plan to dismiss SRT. However to your dismay the poll after voting suggested SRT ahead of Imran on a Pakistani website lol, your statement that Bradman's wife found SRT similar to him has been proven to be false. Now your frustration has led to you taking shots on posters who acknowledge SRT. Let it go, count to 10, take a deep breath and accept reality............

Wouldn't call it agenda.. he joins from another place and one-third of his posts there consist of how SRT fans overrate him. So yes he seems obsessed with the fact that Indians are obsessed with SRT. But apart from that he is decent poster.

I can see how SRT fan reaction would affect others' opinion of him negatively

 

[Romali_rotti]

Sachin was lucky that he was dropped four times and finally managed to win a WC, despite once again, choking in the finals like the mental midget that he was. Why is this hard to understand? To put it in other words, Sachin was getting owned by Afridi and Ajmal left and right at Mohali but kept getting lucky and survived until Ajmal finally put him out of his misery.

I can understand if 1 catch was dropped, that could be considered unlucky but when you drop 4-5 catches in a game, it is not luck, it shows your team is not ready for a big game, it shows loser's mentality and sure as hell reflected with the result, your team lost and was OWNED in the WC by the same opposition.

Kapil wouldn't have been a better cricketer that Imran even if he had two WCs and Imran had none. Or are you saying that Ponting is a bigger player than Sachin because not only did he thrice as many WCs, he also succeeded at the highest stage, unlike Tendulker?

For the 100th time no one is saying Kapil was better than Imran or would have been better than him. Had Imran not won the WC he wouldve forever been in DEV's shadow as DEV has the WC trophy and Imran dont. SRT and Ponting comparison is not valid to this one, the whole talk about cornered tigers, how Imran inspired his team to WC is what gives him the most brownie points. DEV captained a team of men as a 23 year old kid vs the best opposition of his ERA at the biggest stage of cricket to get India the WC glory while Imran was still scratching his head and if there was no RAIN he would never had a WC.....


No, only Indians and past experts pandering to or questioned by Indians believe this to be the case. Sachin is leagues below Bradman and is not a better batsman than Viv, Sobers and arguably, Lara.

Agreed SRT is below Bradman, I am not even going to get into the comparison with the rest, he has been rated the second greatest batsmen of all time by many, we will survive if a few Pakistanis dont feel that way

Bold..

 

[Executioner]

On the basis of performance only no one comes close to Murali.

800 wickets in tests, enough said. Close thread

 

[Slog]

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..

lol Imran has literally never said Inzi was better than Sachin

Gavaskar i dont know but people always tend to rate their times more. its not like he has any benefit from saying so

 

[Slog]

Bold..

And IK will more than survive if some indians dont rate him either

as it is cricket is just one facet of why he is great

 

[waleed88]

lol Imran has literally never said Inzi was better than Sachin

Gavaskar i dont know but people always tend to rate their times more. its not like he has any benefit from saying so

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qafb2SRFf4c

Somewhere in this interview before 2007 WC

 

[waleed88]

lol Imran has literally never said Inzi was better than Sachin

Gavaskar i dont know but people always tend to rate their times more. its not like he has any benefit from saying so

I have probably never seen Imran praise Sachin.. its some sort of indirect praise, like Sachin is great but Gavaskar is greater

 

[Slog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qafb2SRFf4c

Somewhere in this interview before 2007 WC

remember seeing this

dont see him badmouthing sachin anywhere lol

deary me just cuz he doesnt go out of his way to praise sachin (for no reason) when Inzi is sitting with him its an issue now?

 

[waleed88]

As compared to that, another great from the list is Wasim Akram, and he is atleast a more humble guy than Imran Khan, doesn't speak so controversially, or doesn't sound too full of himself

 

[Belawal2014]

The ones coming off as insecure are pretty clear in this thread. More power to Immy.

 

[IAJ]

Best bowler - Murlitharan
Best Batsman - Tendulkar
Best AR - Imran

All 3 have legitimate claims. Picking is a matter of personal choice.

And when you talk about best cricketer, he needs to deliver both with bat and ball, so the answer to OP's question is very simple...

 

[street cricketer]

The ones coming off as insecure are pretty clear in this thread. More power to Immy.

Ha ha, I definitely have no qualms in admitting that Imran was the best cricketer ever from Asia when it comes to contributing in all disciplines. Sachin was a batting obsessed guy and would spend hours trying to make himself the perfect batsman. But he didn't contribute with both bat and the ball like Imran did, and if we consider the fact that Imran was a very good captain, he beats everyone pretty comfortably as he was by and far the best all rounder from asia.

But what's this with many Pak fans not taking the slightest of criticism on Imran lol. It is a well known fact that Imran is the most loved cricketer in Pakistan just like it's Sachin in India. Imagine if Sachin attends a special meet in Pakistan and goes on to say "Imran got lucky that he didn't bowl in the era of the modern batsmen" or sth along those lines. Teenda would've been ripped apart here lol.

 

[Belawal2014]

Ha ha, I definitely have no qualms in admitting that Imran was the best cricketer ever from Asia when it comes to contributing in all disciplines. Sachin was a batting obsessed guy and would spend hours trying to make himself the perfect batsman. But he didn't contribute with both bat and the ball like Imran did, and if we consider the fact that Imran was a very good captain, he beats everyone pretty comfortably as he was by and far the best all rounder from asia.

But what's this with many Pak fans not taking the slightest of criticism on Imran lol. It is a well known fact that Imran is the most loved cricketer in Pakistan just like it's Sachin in India. Imagine if Sachin attends a special meet in Pakistan and goes on to say "Imran got lucky that he didn't bowl in the era of the modern batsmen" or sth along those lines. Teenda would've been ripped apart here lol.

My post wasn't directed at you in particular. I actually saw your post after I posted my comment. It was directed at that Waleed dude and Hitman who've been posting links from god knows when to make their point and then claim others are insecure...hmm

Your bold part is true and the same applies for SRT fans as well (just look at any SRT threads in the past). I also agree that Immy has a touch of arrogance and the tendency to hold his peers in higher regards than others who came after him. Also doesn't help that he's been so out of touch with modern cricket that his cricket-related comments are revolved around his playing days and often through rose-tinted glasses.

I've seen a couple of video on Youtube where Immy is asked of SRT and there's this feeling that he's always reserved when it comes to praise for SRT but I've never seen him mock or making fun of him and he justifies whatever he says. I'm sure his words were twisted in a sense to make it come off as demeaning to SRT.

At the end of the day, praise from Immy or lack thereof is not going to change what SRT has achieved, what he means to a billion of Indians, his impact on the game of cricket, and the genius batsman that he was.

We're dealing with two stark personalities here. Some may call Immy a bit of a proud man, someone who's a bit arrogant while SRT's as humble as it gets. What they have in common is their contributions to the game, the impact they've had on India and Pakistan respectively and that should be more than enough for us to be proud to call them the best of Asia. Chalo jee, 5 45 AM here and I'm off to bed.

 

[Orange Tree]

It's obviously Tendulkar.


He's not only the greatest Asian test cricketer but also the greatest ever test cricketer to ever grace the cricket field.


If u gather 10 cricket analysts, 9 of them will say it's Sachin. The remaining one will say it's Gavaskar /wasim/Imran/.


I don't think it's even up for a debate.

 

[RamLakhan]

It's obviously Tendulkar.


He's not only the greatest Asian test cricketer but also the greatest ever test cricketer to ever grace the cricket field.


If u gather 10 cricket analysts, 9 of them will say it's Sachin. The remaining one will say it's Gavaskar /wasim/Imran/.


I don't think it's even up for a debate.

Yes, this is PP. That's why we have this kind of poll results. Anyhow Sachin still beats!

 

[shariqnoor]

Imran wins hands down. Tendulkar is an all time great but he doesn't beat Imran as the cricketing package. Imran had everything what you would want in a Test cricket. He had impact both as a batsman as well as with the ball.

Also Tendulkar just wilted when he was made captain. His captain was uninspiring and his batting crumbled under the weight of captaincy. On the other hand, Imran elevated himself even further when he was captain. If I'm not mistaken his batting average was more than 50 when he was captain. No need to mention about his captaincy.

Imran wins this easily.

 

[Hitman]

Imran wins hands down. Tendulkar is an all time great but he doesn't beat Imran as the cricketing package. Imran had everything what you would want in a Test cricket. He had impact both as a batsman as well as with the ball.

Also Tendulkar just wilted when he was made captain. His captain was uninspiring and his batting crumbled under the weight of captaincy. On the other hand, Imran elevated himself even further when he was captain. If I'm not mistaken his batting average was more than 50 when he was captain. No need to mention about his captaincy.

Imran wins this easily.

Wrong! Sachin averages 52 odd in Tests under his own captaincy. No other Indian captain has averaged more than 50 under their own captaincy.

 

[shariqnoor]

Wrong! Sachin averages 52 odd in Tests under his own captaincy. No other Indian captain has averaged more than 50 under their own captaincy.

Well he did cane SL/NZ in the 90s in his captaincy. I would like to see how he did against Australia and SA?

 

[Hitman]

Well he did cane SL/NZ in the 90s in his captaincy. I would like to see how he did against Australia and SA?

Shifting goal posts, aren't we? You said that his batting failed under the burden of captaincy.

 

[Hitman]

Cricket 'Bible' WISDEN didn't even bother to have Imran Khan in their 'All Time XI' team

Yet Sachin, almost like always, found a place in that team. Not only found a place but was placed at #4 in their team, the position where Sachin has mostly batted.

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?188454-WISDEN-announces-it-s-All-Time-World-Test-XI

 

[Watsupdoc]

The Asian Bradman - Zaheer Abbas. He's called that for a reason.

 

[shariqnoor]

Shifting goal posts, aren't we? You said that his batting failed under the burden of captaincy.

It generally did. In the 90s there were only 3 world class teams - Australia, Pakistan and South Africa. And his record as captain isn't great at all against those teams both in Test cricket as well as ODI. In ODIs as captain he has sub 30 averages as captain against Pakistan and Australia. However let's leave that as this is only about Test cricket. Yes he has an average of over 50 as captain in Tests but in terms of a quality index, you'd generally put Imran's performances above Tendulkar's because Imran got better as the opposition got better.

Anyways, I'm a huge fan of Sachin as well. So not discrediting his achievements at all. However I just feel Imran tops Sachin as an overall Test cricketing package. Batting/Bowling/Captaincy - he had it all.

 

[Midwinter13992]

The 2nd Greatest Batsman of All Time, Holder of multiple batting records across the formats....His achievements are enough to prove that he us Greatest Asian Player.

 

[Bilal7]

The top five Asian cricketers of all-time:

1) Imran Khan - The best all-round package
2) Sachin Tendulker - The best batsman
3) Wasim Akram - Arguably the best pace bowler
4) Muralitharan - The best spinner
5) Miandad/Gavasker/Waqar/Sangakkara

Apart from Imran, and whoever you choose at #5, the rest of the list can be numbered in any which way. Wasim, Sachin and Murali are on the same level and offer the same impact to their respective fields.

 

[Hasan123]

Best batsmen= Sachin
Best fast bowler=Wasim
Best spinner =Murali
Best all rounder=Imran
Best captain=Imran

For best Asian player, Sachin or Imran either answer is fine for me.

 

[Haz95]

Why isn't Shahid Afridi in the polls? He is one of the most destructive, most entertaining and influential batsman of all time.

No Asian cricketer is known at the household level like lalalalala.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

For every vote that Imran gets, an Indian joins this forum

 

[Snatch]

The top five Asian cricketers of all-time:

1) Imran Khan - The best all-round package
2) Sachin Tendulker - The best batsman
3) Wasim Akram - Arguably the best pace bowler
4) Muralitharan - The best spinner
5) Miandad/Gavasker/Waqar/Sangakkara

Apart from Imran, and whoever you choose at #5, the rest of the list can be numbered in any which way. Wasim, Sachin and Murali are on the same level and offer the same impact to their respective fields.

For me;

1) Imran
2) Murali (possibly biggest 1-man matchwinner in cricket history)
3) Sanga/Tendulkar
4) Wasim/Gavaskar
5) Miandad

I was tempted to bracket Murali & Imran as first equal, but Imran's captaincy probably gives him a slight edge. It's weird people forget Murali was one of the biggest match-winners of all time, assuming people care about matchwinners as opposed to darlings who had the longest careers & the biggest population of fans.

 

[CricFan2012]

Kindve regret voting Sachin now, come to think of it Imran was an overall better cricketer along with a great captaincy record

 

[CricFan2012]

For me;

1) Imran
2) Murali (possibly biggest 1-man matchwinner in cricket history)
3) Sanga/Tendulkar
4) Wasim/Gavaskar
5) Miandad

I was tempted to bracket Murali & Imran as first equal, but Imran's captaincy probably gives him a slight edge. It's weird people forget Murali was one of the biggest match-winners of all time, assuming people care about matchwinners as opposed to darlings who had the longest careers & the biggest population of fans.

murali had his elbow advantage, any natural advantage in cricket doesn't make for fair play. Have went easy on murali in recent times because he wasn't deliberately chucking like our very own Ajmal, some biased posters will still hold ajmal in high regard. Murali's debate is opinionated mostly but its leaning towards unfair advantage

 

[Snatch]

For every vote that Imran gets, an Indian joins this forum

Would be interesting to know who neutral posters voted, but I guess it's too hard to know.

I guess in general most Indians voted Sachin, most Pakistanis Imran, so no great surprise

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Would be interesting to know who neutral posters voted, but I guess it's too hard to know.

I guess in general most Indians voted Sachin, most Pakistanis Imran, so no great surprise

Most neutrals have voted Imran. [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION], [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION], @ozymandiazsa, [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION] and a couple more. Don't see any non Pakistanis/Indians who have voted voted for sachin

 

[Snatch]

There was a poll on an Australian sports site that I'm trying to find between these two, which around 100 people voted (presumably mostly neutral) and Imran won 62% to 38%. I'll see if I can find it.

If anything there's more Indians in Australia that may have voted than there are Pakistanis.

 

[Tusker]

Would be interesting to know who neutral posters voted, but I guess it's too hard to know.

I guess in general most Indians voted Sachin, most Pakistanis Imran, so no great surprise

So you are claiming there are equal Indians (and that they are All obviously biased) on a Pakistani site and thats why Tendulkar is level with Imran ?

 

[Snatch]

So you are claiming there are equal Indians (and that they are All obviously biased) on a Pakistani site and thats why Tendulkar is level with Imran ?

I wrote it would be interesting to know since I'd seen a previous poll in an popular Australian sports site that had 62% voting Imran as Asia's greatest cricketer in a direct head to head match up with Tendulkar in which I'm guessing would have included more indians living in Aust than Paksitanis, so I did find it a little surprising that this poll is so close and naturally assumed it might be due to Indians voting, but i could be wrong.

But I am learning it's quite a different consensus on this site than I've experienced before with many saying Tendulkar is the greatest batsman/cricketers ever which was a real eye opener for me which we're now discussed to death, that Imran was a better allrounder than Sobers, that Wasim the best fast bowler ever etc.

 

[Tusker]

I wrote it would be interesting to know since I'd seen a previous poll in an popular Australian sports site that had 62% voting Imran as Asia's greatest cricketer in a direct head to head match up with Tendulkar in which I'm guessing would have included more indians living in Aust than Paksitanis, so I did find it a little surprising that this poll is so close and naturally assumed it might be due to Indians voting, but i could be wrong.

But I am learning it's quite a different consensus on this site than I've experienced before with many saying Tendulkar is the greatest batsman/cricketers ever which was a real eye opener for me which we're now discussed to death, that Imran was a better allrounder than Sobers, that Wasim the best fast bowler ever etc.

Nearly 35K runs (BTW that is 4.5 x Imrans tally of Runs) + 200 Intl Wkts over 24 yrs tend to do that. Imran made 7500 Intl runs in 277 inngs. Tendulkar made 6700 just against Aus (and in only 144 inngs) who were the best of the best in his times. Not sure why you were even surprised that Tendulkar has such a following .... the man played a small matter of 200 test matches and 450 ODIs with some really great performances. Its only natural that he would be at a huge advantage in a comparison with Imran.

 

[Snatch]

Nearly 35K runs (BTW that is 4.5 x Imrans tally of Runs) + 200 Intl Wkts over 24 yrs tend to do that. Imran made 7500 Intl runs in 277 inngs. Tendulkar made 6700 just against Aus (and in only 144 inngs) who were the best of the best in his times. Not sure why you were even surprised that Tendulkar has such a following .... the man played a small matter of 200 test matches and 450 ODIs with some really great performances. Its only natural that he would be at a huge advantage in a comparison with Imran.

Oh for sure, in terms longevity nobody has Tendulkar beat. Guy started playing at 16 and played for close to 25 years.

This thread was intended to be greatest Asian cricketer though, as in the best player, not the one who played the most games or scored the most runs. I perhaps could have made that clearer. It was also primarily supposed to be concerning Test cricket, since ODI was hardly played in the first half on Imran's career, or anyone pre 1970.

You're not really suggesting Tendulkar was anything more than a handy part-timer as Test bowler as you? Just I've never heard someone talk up his bowling before.

It is crazy to think Imran averaged almost with the bat 40 in Test cricket, just 16 less than Tendulkar while at the same time just happened to be one of the greatest Test bowlers of all time averaging an incredible 22, which is arguably a better bowling average than Sachin's batting one. I've always considered a bowling average of 22 to be equal to 55 with the bat.

But to your point if we're taking about the numbers of games played and runs scored then Tendulkar had Imran beat, although it's hardly Imran's fault that so few games were played between in his 22 year career between 1971 and 1992 compared to what Tendulkar's managed in his 24 year one.

I will say this though, I do agree Sachin has more adoring fans than Imran, although it's hard not to when India have a population of 1.3 billion and Pakistan just 180 million, only about 1/7th the size.

 

[Snatch]

I see the poll is even at 53 each currently, although a guy above said he voted the wrong way, so Imran leading 54 -52.

 

[street cricketer]

I wrote it would be interesting to know since I'd seen a previous poll in an popular Australian sports site that had 62% voting Imran as Asia's greatest cricketer in a direct head to head match up with Tendulkar in which I'm guessing would have included more indians living in Aust than Paksitanis, so I did find it a little surprising that this poll is so close and naturally assumed it might be due to Indians voting, but i could be wrong.

But I am learning it's quite a different consensus on this site than I've experienced before with many saying Tendulkar is the greatest batsman/cricketers ever which was a real eye opener for me which we're now discussed to death, that Imran was a better allrounder than Sobers, that Wasim the best fast bowler ever etc.

In case you missed it, Dhoni is the best captain ever, Aleem Dar is the best umpire ever and Ranjan Madugalle is the best match referee ever.

 

[Snatch]

In case you missed it, Dhoni is the best captain ever, Aleem Dar is the best umpire ever and Ranjan Madugalle is the best match referee ever.

Haha, I had assumed as much.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Imran Khan >= Sachin Tendulkar in test. Sachin > Imran in ODIs. I feel Dravid did a better job for India than Sachin as a test batsman, but Imran is the best pakistani cricketer by a huge margin. Imran was also easily the best allrounder in the world when he played (Sachin was rivalled by Lara, ponting and kallis).

 

[Romali_rotti]

It is crazy to think Imran averaged almost with the bat 40 in Test cricket,.

Take out the not-outs and then check Imran's avg

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Take out the not-outs and then check Imran's avg

Still 30.21 per innings, very good for a 'bowling' allrounder who rivalled all time great bowlers like Hadlee, Marshall and Ambrose.

 

[Romali_rotti]

Imran Khan >= Sachin Tendulkar in test. Sachin > Imran in ODIs. I feel Dravid did a better job for India than Sachin as a test batsman, but Imran is the best pakistani cricketer by a huge margin. Imran was also easily the best allrounder in the world when he played (Sachin was rivalled by Lara, ponting and kallis).

SRT only had one rival prior to 2004 before his Tennis Elbow and that was Lara and even then SRT was ahead, he was considered the best bat by his peers. After his tennis elbow he naturally dipped then the Kallis/Pontings started coming into the picture.... Mind you Ponting never faced his bowlers were ATGs and Kallis never faced the SA bowlers who were the second best to Aus while SRT faced BOTH....

For me:

SRT= LARA > Matter of preference.

Then the tier 2:

Ponting,
Kallis,
Dravid

Then Tier 3:

Michael Vaughn,
Sangakarra
Gilchrist

Who is the greatest and influential cricketer from sub continent ? SRT without a doubt, who is probably second most cricketer of all time after Bradman ? SRT

 

[Snatch]

Take out the not-outs and then check Imran's avg

Really? We're removing not outs now from a guy who played close to 90 test matches?

 

[abhayjj]

Mohd. Amir and Babar Azam

 

[Romali_rotti]

Still 30.21 per innings, very good for a 'bowling' allrounder who rivalled all time great bowlers like Hadlee, Marshall and Ambrose.

That is good for an allrounder, Kapil without not outs is 28 I believe, but comparing that sorry batting avg to SRT is comical indeed....

 

[Romali_rotti]

Really? We're removing not outs now from a guy who played close to 90 test matches?

Yes, so its not crazy at all for a batsmen of limited capability to avg 40 in tests, like Imran's stats show, all you need is a lot of not outs

 

[Joseph Gomes]

That is good for an allrounder, Kapil without not outs is 28 I believe, but comparing that sorry batting avg to SRT is comical indeed....

Tendulkar's bowling average is 54...sorrier than Imran's batting average. Look at the overall package.

And comparing Kapil to Imran...really?

 

[Snatch]

SRT only had one rival prior to 2004 before his Tennis Elbow and that was Lara and even then SRT was ahead, he was considered the best bat by his peers. After his tennis elbow he naturally dipped then the Kallis/Pontings started coming into the picture.... Mind you Ponting never faced his bowlers were ATGs and Kallis never faced the SA bowlers who were the second best to Aus while SRT faced BOTH....

For me:

SRT= LARA > Matter of preference.

Then the tier 2:

Ponting,
Kallis,
Dravid

Then Tier 3:

Michael Vaughn,
Sangakarra
Gilchrist

Who is the greatest and influential cricketer from sub continent ? SRT without a doubt, who is probably second most cricketer of all time after Bradman ? SRT

It's great everyone can have their opinions on that,

For me, there's 5 modern (post 1990) great batsmen & people will choose based on personal preference, they are;

Lara
Ponting
Sanga
Sachin
Kallis

As I've said before, personally I think Lara and Ponting shade the others, with Sanga, Tendulkar & Kallis slightly behind (with obviously Kallis the greatest cricketer of them all because of his bowling).

But I have no problem with you thinking Lara and Tendulkar are the best two, because like you say it's just a matter of personal preference. I do find it crazy you put Sanga as a tier 3 batsman though, but each to their own. I know some people who rate him as the best of all of them, I don't happen to agree with that, but I think he's in the mix.

 

[Snatch]

Yes, so its not crazy at all for a batsmen of limited capability to avg 40 in tests, like Imran's stats show, all you need is a lot of not outs

Actually it is pretty crazy for one of the greatest bowlers of all time to also average 40 with the bat whether he has some not outs or not. That is why the other great allrounders of Imran's era only averaged between 27-33.

I know not outs can distort someones average in a short series, but I don't think we should be penalising players across their whole career for times when they weren't dismissed and pretend they were.

 

[Romali_rotti]

Tendulkar's bowling average is 54...sorrier than Imran's batting average. Look at the overall package.


Ok you now proved to me something I already knew Imran is a greater bowler than SRT.. WOW thanks brother, you have enlightened me. However the topic discussed in the post was Snatch discussing Imran's and SRT batting in post 208 which is what I was responding to....

And comparing Kapil to Imran...really?

Damn straight, a captain who led a group of men at the age of 23 to world cup glory without the help of rain.. Also Dev's and Imran's stats vs the WI the greatest side of their era is neck and neck. It all comes down to what you did vs the BEST forget the REST. Imran is better than Dev as a complete package I agree......

Bold....

 

[Tusker]

Oh for sure, in terms longevity nobody has Tendulkar beat. Guy started playing at 16 and played for close to 25 years.

This thread was intended to be greatest Asian cricketer though, as in the best player, not the one who played the most games or scored the most runs. I perhaps could have made that clearer. It was also primarily supposed to be concerning Test cricket, since ODI was hardly played in the first half on Imran's career, or anyone pre 1970.

You're not really suggesting Tendulkar was anything more than a handy part-timer as Test bowler as you? Just I've never heard someone talk up his bowling before.

It is crazy to think Imran averaged almost with the bat 40 in Test cricket, just 16 less than Tendulkar while at the same time just happened to be one of the greatest Test bowlers of all time averaging an incredible 22, which is arguably a better bowling average than Sachin's batting one. I've always considered a bowling average of 22 to be equal to 55 with the bat.

But to your point if we're taking about the numbers of games played and runs scored then Tendulkar had Imran beat, although it's hardly Imran's fault that so few games were played between in his 22 year career between 1971 and 1992 compared to what Tendulkar's managed in his 24 year one.

I will say this though, I do agree Sachin has more adoring fans than Imran, although it's hard not to when India have a population of 1.3 billion and Pakistan just 180 million, only about 1/7th the size.

Tendulkar was more than a handy part time bowler .... made serious contributions to our 2 biggest wins in Kolkatta (2001) and Adelaide (2003) by picking up crucial wickets. Also you don't get to play that many unless you are seriously good. I mean Imran himself played 88 Tests which is a decent amount of Test cricket. To double that and play some more on top of it (and play 450+ ODI's !!) takes a different kind of genius. Imrans biggest achievement is the WC Win .... no matter what people try to pretend both players are popular because of their ODI game. And once you remove the not outs the avg difference increases quite a bit.

BTW the same 1.3 Billion never adored any other Great Indian Cricketer before him and we have had a few great cricketers. In this day and age nobody has the time to get emotionally attached to a Cricketer. Nobody shed a tear when Kapil retired or Gavaskar or Vishwanath or Dravid or Ganguly etc etc ... But Tendulkar was different and his retirement from the game was one of a kind that befits a great cricketer of his stature culminating in being awarded the Bharat Ratna again a award no cricketer has ever gotten close to getting.

 

[Bilal7]

For me;

1) Imran
2) Murali (possibly biggest 1-man matchwinner in cricket history)
3) Sanga/Tendulkar
4) Wasim/Gavaskar
5) Miandad

I was tempted to bracket Murali & Imran as first equal, but Imran's captaincy probably gives him a slight edge. It's weird people forget Murali was one of the biggest match-winners of all time, assuming people care about matchwinners as opposed to darlings who had the longest careers & the biggest population of fans.

You can definitely have Murali at #2 for the reasons you mentioned but Sangakkara being any higher than #5 is dodgy at best. He is in no way a better player than Wasim Akram and Sachin Tendulker.

Plus, you picked seven players instead of five.

 

[Bilal7]

Tendulkar was more than a handy part time bowler .... made serious contributions to our 2 biggest wins in Kolkatta (2001) and Adelaide (2003) by picking up crucial wickets. Also you don't get to play that many unless you are seriously good. I mean Imran himself played 88 Tests which is a decent amount of Test cricket. To double that and play some more on top of it (and play 450+ ODI's !!) takes a different kind of genius. Imrans biggest achievement is the WC Win .... no matter what people try to pretend both players are popular because of their ODI game. And once you remove the not outs the avg difference increases quite a bit.

BTW the same 1.3 Billion never adored any other Great Indian Cricketer before him and we have had a few great cricketers. In this day and age nobody has the time to get emotionally attached to a Cricketer. Nobody shed a tear when Kapil retired or Gavaskar or Vishwanath or Dravid or Ganguly etc etc ... But Tendulkar was different and his retirement from the game was one of a kind that befits a great cricketer of his stature culminating in being awarded the Bharat Ratna again a award no cricketer has ever gotten close to getting.

India were a garbage team and Sachin was a shining light that gave you guys some hope. Had Dravid or Kohli gotten there before Sachin, they would have been the golden boys while Sachin would have been overshadowed.

It really is hilarious that some of you are bringing in Sachin's bowling into this, lol. He was a part-timer who got a few wickets in a 20 year career, nothing more.

Tendulker was an awful captain, nothing bowler and mediocre fielder. Imran beats him by miles on two of those accounts and was the better fielder too.

It is clear who the better cricketer is.

 

[street cricketer]

Looks like Imran has magically improved on his fielding in this thread.

Good on him.

 

[Tusker]

India were a garbage team and Sachin was a shining light that gave you guys some hope. Had Dravid or Kohli gotten there before Sachin, they would have been the golden boys while Sachin would have been overshadowed.

You do know that Kapil, Suny and to some extent Vishy were far bigger icons than Dravid ? Kapil even won the WC. While Kohli is still not done with his career so cannot compare but he has the best chance of going past Tendulkar but I doubt he will reach the cult Hero status that Tendulkar has. Kohli himself is a major fan of Tendulkar.

It really is hilarious that some of you are bringing in Sachin's bowling into this, lol. He was a part-timer who got a few wickets in a 20 year career, nothing more.

Tendulker was an awful captain, nothing bowler and mediocre fielder. Imran beats him by miles on two of those accounts and was the better fielder too.

It is clear who the better cricketer is.

Any aspects of the game that Imran is ahead of Tendulkar is more than compensated by Tendulkars mind numbing achievements in Batting. Tendulkar is the only one to Challenge Bradman. Imran has achieved no such thing in his main skill - bowling. Tendulkar at worst is the 2nd best batsman ever. Imran struggles to make it to top 10. He isnt even the best bowler to play for Pakistan !!

And you can try to shout as much as you want but nobody will believe you when you say Imran was a better fielder than Tendulkar ... Twice as many catches as Imran in the same no.of inngs as Imran played (158) confirm that.

And there is really no contest if we bring in ODIs.