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Who is the greatest ever Asian Test cricketer?

Greatest Asian Test cricketer

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Snatch

Snatch

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Can the moderators makes a Poll?

If so can you please add the following options?

Muttiah Muralitharan

Imran Khan

Sachin Tendulkar

Wasim Akram

Kapil Dev

Kumar Sangakkara

Sunil Gavaskar


I believe it's Imran Khan, the 2nd best all-rounder in the history of Test cricket after Garry Sobers.
 
Imran Khan has a case of being the greatest cricketer of all time, let alone Asian test cricketer. Players off the top of my head who rival him are Bradman, Richards, Grace who can all be argued to be GOATs too.
 
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Belawal2014 said:
Pakistanis will say Immy, Indians will say SRT. Both is fine imo.
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Doubt it, if we are only talking Test cricket, I'm sure most honest & educated India fans will vote for Imran since only Keith Miller in the history of cricket has similar numbers. Loads of batsmen have better Test records than Tendulkar and remember he was always protected in the number 4 spot, which is harder than Sanga's and Ponting's number 3 spot.
 
Snatch said:
Doubt it, if we are only talking Test cricket, I'm sure most honest & educated India fans will vote for Imran since only Keith Miller in the history of cricket has similar numbers. Loads of batsmen have better Test records than Tendulkar and remember he was always protected in the number 4 spot, which is harder than Sanga's and Ponting's number 3 spot.
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Yes but Tendulkar for Indians is so much more than mere records and numbers (and boy does he have some great numbers). Also need to consider longevity and his fitness to play the game at the top level for so many years.
 
Belawal2014 said:
Yes but Tendulkar for Indians is so much more than mere records and numbers (and boy does he have some great numbers). Also need to consider longevity and his fitness to play the game at the top level for so many years.
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Longevity is a point for Sachin, but remember it's easier for a batsmen, and Imran still managed 20 years bowling fast which is actually more impressive when u think about it than Sachin's 24 years.

Also Longevity is only one of many factors. If we are talking about records well ahead of almost any other of their peers, it is Imran easily, followed by Murali and Sachin 3rd.

Is there any reason Murali isn't considered to have a better bowling record than Sachin's batting record when you really examine it?

Both have more runs and wickets than anyone else, but I would argue Murali's bowling average of 22 is equal to a batting average of 55-56, and Murali achieved that average with over 800 wickets.

Sachin only averaged 52 in the end, about 6-7 less than Sangakkara and this is after being protected at number 4 for his whole career, I don't think Sachin ever batted at the more challenging position as no. 3
 
Belawal2014 said:
I would personally go with Immy and that's because I'm biased, but we all have biases.
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I don't think that's wrong though, as a neutral supporter I would select Imran also.

There's a case he may be the greatest cricketer after Bradman & Sobers.
 
Buffet said:
Murali is right up there as well.
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Yes I would argue Murali's bowling record is better than Sachin's batting record. His average is more impressive is people agree a bowling average of 22 is equal to a batting average above 55.
 
Snatch said:
Is there any reason Murali isn't considered to have a better bowling record than Sachin's batting record when you really examine it?
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Record in Aus and India is horrible. You can make that argument if you are really going to start comparing batting record vs bowling record. I don't think they can be compared that way, but just saying.
 
Snatch said:
Longevity is a point for Sachin, but remember it's easier for a batsmen, and Imran still managed 20 years bowling fast which is actually more impressive when u think about it than Sachin's 24 years.

Also Longevity is only one of many factors. If we are talking about records well ahead of almost any other of their peers, it is Imran easily, followed by Murali and Sachin 3rd.

Is there any reason Murali isn't considered to have a better bowling record than Sachin's batting record when you really examine it?

Both have more runs and wickets than anyone else, but I would argue Murali's bowling average of 22 is equal to a batting average of 55-56, and Murali achieved that average with over 800 wickets.

Sachin only averaged 52 in the end, about 6-7 less than Sangakkara and this is after being protected at number 4 for his whole career, I don't think Sachin ever batted at the more challenging position as no. 3
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Also need to consider that Imran was out for a couple of years at his peak with stress fracture and still has amazing numbers. Imagine what his numbers would've been if he wasn't?

Anyways comparing bowlers to batsman to all rounders get a little tricky and opens a can of worms.

Imran vs Sachin is a topic that's been beaten to death numerous times in the past and we're best at just accepting people's opinions with their biases as we all have biases.
 
Snatch said:
Doubt it, if we are only talking Test cricket, I'm sure most honest & educated India fans will vote for Imran since only Keith Miller in the history of cricket has similar numbers.
Click to expand...

See Imran here ? I dont.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...ns;template=results;type=allround;view=series


Loads of batsmen have better Test records than Tendulkar and remember he was always protected in the number 4 spot, which is harder than Sanga's and Ponting's number 3 spot.
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Why dont you show some other "protected" batsmen at 4,5,6 or any batting position ... that made 100s in their 1st ever tours to SA,ENG,AUS in their teens and then go on to repeat that for fun in the next 2 tours of those 3 countries ?

So IF you understand Test Cricket and difficulty levels involved in such achievements then you will realize why Tendulkar is on a different level. But the key there is *IF*.
 
Belawal2014 said:
Yeah, Sri Lanka fans will go for Murali, and there's nothing wrong in that.
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I think saying fans will just pick their own is lame and demeans the fact that we have some very educated and honest fans on this site. Not everyone takes the view that "OH Sachin or Murali or Imran is one of ours so I vote him".

I'm not denying you get biases from the average fan, but the more astute and educated one will provide strong arguments why they think it's a certain player and the arguments should speak for themselves, not just what country to person is from.

I do agree if you asked the average passive fan from India they have been conditioned to answer "Sachin" but these average passive fans probably wouldn't even know who Imran Khan is, and if they do, only by name.

I created this thread so educated fans could discuss the merits of all these players, not just as a popularity thing where most Indian will vote Sachin because he's a famous name, I'm talking actual cricketing merits.
 
It's Imran Khan by a colossal distance.

He was a top class fast bowler, fearsome from 1982-1988, but he also averaged with the bat the same as most Top Order batsmen in world cricket did at the time. And he was a great captain.
 
The best Asian player is an all-rounder, Imran Khan. There is no doubt about this. He had the best ever bowling peak in the history of the game - I rate him second only to Marshall with the ball - and as a batsman, he would walk into every single team today. Not to mention that he was one of the greatest captains of all time.

After him, are the following three players:

2) Wasim Akram - Greatest pacer.
3) Sachin Tendulker - Greatest batsman.
4) Muttiah Muralitharan - Greatest spinner.

After them, the following players complete the top ten:

5) Gavasker
6) Waqar
7) Miandad/Sanga/Younis
8) Sanga/Younis Miandad
9) Younis/Miandad/Sanga
10) Kapil
 
Snatch said:
Doubt it, if we are only talking Test cricket, I'm sure most honest & educated India fans will vote for Imran since only Keith Miller in the history of cricket has similar numbers. Loads of batsmen have better Test records than Tendulkar and remember he was always protected in the number 4 spot, which is harder than Sanga's and Ponting's number 3 spot.
Click to expand...

Not as black and white as you make out to be.. If you think Imran is no 1 fair enough but SRT has a solid case here..

Compare home vs away performances of both players for example..
 
Tusker said:
See Imran here ? I dont.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...ns;template=results;type=allround;view=series




Why dont you show some other "protected" batsmen at 4,5,6 or any batting position ... that made 100s in their 1st ever tours to SA,ENG,AUS in their teens and then go on to repeat that for fun in the next 2 tours of those 3 countries ?

So IF you understand Test Cricket and difficulty levels involved in such achievements then you will realize why Tendulkar is on a different level. But the key there is *IF*.
Click to expand...

Asad Shafiq has just completed the triple of a century in AUS, ENG and SA on his first every tour of those countries.
 
Tusker said:
Not a Teenager. Wont make it to Another tour of AUS.
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How does that matter? Age has no relevance in international cricket. On his first tours of Australia, England and South Africa, Asad Shafiq has scored a century each.

street cricketer said:
This.

This is going to invariably end up in a futile slugfest.:facepalm:
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Not really since even the neutrals have picked Imran Khan.
 
Bilal7 said:
How does that matter? Age has no relevance in international cricket. On his first tours of Australia, England and South Africa, Asad Shafiq has scored a century each.
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Its to do with maturity and talent at a very young age at which most players cannot even compete at Club/Domestic levels ... So to just make the national team at that age and then to tour some of the most difficult countries and succeed is a massive achievement. I havent checked the stats but I dont think anyone has done such a thing. Pretty sure no one has suceeded on 3 succesive tours to those 3 countries.
 
My ranking of greatest asian test cricketers:

1. Tendulkar
2. Akram
3. Imran
4. Murali
5. Gavaskar
6. Sangakkara
7. Sehwag
8. Dravid
9. Miandad
10. Kapil
11. Kumble
12. Waqar
 
My Asian all time XI

Gavaskar
Sehwag
Dravid
Tendulkar
Miandad
Sangakkara (wk)
Imran (c)
Akram
Kumble/Kapil- depends on conditions
Waqar
Murali
 
transitional said:
My ranking of greatest asian test cricketers:

1. Tendulkar
2. Akram
3. Imran
4. Murali
5. Gavaskar
6. Sangakkara
7. Sehwag
8. Dravid
9. Miandad
10. Kapil
11. Kumble
12. Waqar
Click to expand...

How is Akram the better TEST cricketer though? Immy >>>Waz by some distance.
 
IK for being an all rounder. He also often carried Pak on his shoulders during his incredibly long career.
 
Imran Khan for sure.

Tendulkar had a wonderful career and had a huge impact on the sport in India and consequently in the world. But his promise fizzled out in the 2000s and he finished in a pack of 10-15 of the greatest batsmen to have played sport in stead of challenging Bradman.
 
My Greatest Asian test XI would probably be

Gavaskar
Hanif Mohammad
Dravid
Tendulkar
Miandad
Sangakkara+
Imran
Kapil
Wasim
Kumble
Waqar

That's some deep batting line-up
 
If Miandad had played as many tests as Tendulkar, he would be the one to win it.
 
Tendulkar is the greatest i have seen by a fair margin not only in asia but from the entire world
 
A cricketer shouldn't only be judged by their stats. Sachin performed all over the world, started from a very young age, played multiple formats consistently for 24 years and had a massive impact on viewers and other cricketers.
 
Imran is a GOAT test all-rounder and ATG odi all-rounder.

SRT is a GOAT test+ odi batsmen.

Both have strong claims to be called the greatest ever.Imran has a great legacy as a captain.

I think older posters can help the case here.

Would like to know from them on their pick.
 
Top 10 in no particular order:

India- Sachin, Gavaskar, Dravid, Kapil
Pakistan- Imran, Wasim, Waqar, Miandad
SL- Murali, Sangakkara

No other player apart from this 10 has valid claim to be an ATG.

The likes of Kumble, Vaas, Sehwag, Inzy, Younis, VVS and others follow.
 
Ab Fan said:
Top 10 in no particular order:

India- Sachin, Gavaskar, Dravid, Kapil
Pakistan- Imran, Wasim, Waqar, Miandad
SL- Murali, Sangakkara

No other player apart from this 10 has valid claim to be an ATG.

The likes of Kumble, Vaas, Sehwag, Inzy, Younis, VVS and others follow.
Click to expand...

Several spinners like Bedi, Chandra, Kumble, Saqlain etc have claims to be ATG spinners.
 
Ab Fan said:
Top 10 in no particular order:

India- Sachin, Gavaskar, Dravid, Kapil
Pakistan- Imran, Wasim, Waqar, Miandad
SL- Murali, Sangakkara

No other player apart from this 10 has valid claim to be an ATG.

The likes of Kumble, Vaas, Sehwag, Inzy, Younis, VVS and others follow.
Click to expand...

Dravid and Miandad don't really deserve to be up with the others names
 
Sachin136 said:
Several spinners like Bedi, Chandra, Kumble, Saqlain etc have claims to be ATG spinners.
Click to expand...

Saqlain is an ATG spinner in odis not in tests. Bedi and Chandra are all great spinners although have done well in all conditions but I dont think they are ATGs.
 
Snatch said:
Dravid and Miandad don't really deserve to be up with the others names
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Well, they deserve it to be honest.

Highly respected players that have peer reputation and great stats backing them up.Not a top tier like Sachin, Wasim or Gavaskar but I would have them alongside Kapil, Sanga and Waqar.
 
anindo said:
Imran Khan for sure.

Tendulkar had a wonderful career and had a huge impact on the sport in India and consequently in the world. But his promise fizzled out in the 2000s and he finished in a pack of 10-15 of the greatest batsmen to have played sport in stead of challenging Bradman.
Click to expand...

With the kind of stats Bradman has , no one can dare to challenge that.
 
anindo said:
Imran Khan for sure.

Tendulkar had a wonderful career and had a huge impact on the sport in India and consequently in the world. But his promise fizzled out in the 2000s and he finished in a pack of 10-15 of the greatest batsmen to have played sport in stead of challenging Bradman.
Click to expand...

I agree with this assessment, Tendulkar promised so much and in spite being the darling of India and getting the nice safer 'no 4' spot, he really wasn't any better than 4-5 others great batsmen of his era

I would say Sangakkara, Kallis, Lara & Ponting were all slightly better test batters, but I'm aware that at that level it comes down to personal preference

I find it hard to find anyone to compare with Imran though, perhaps Keith Miller.

I think after Imran, I'd choose Murali 2nd, Wasim 3rd Sangakkara 4th and Sachin 5th in Asias top Test cricketers.
 
I've always found it weird that Murali isn't usually held in the same regard as Sachin by many Indians. They both are the leading batters and bowlers when it comes to runs and wickets but am I right in thinking Murali's bowling average is better than Sachin's batting one?

What do you guys think? 22 with the ball is better than 52 with the bat?
 
Snatch said:
What do you guys think? 22 with the ball is better than 52 with the bat?
Click to expand...

22 or 52 itself hardly tells you everything. All 22 or 52 won't be same. 22 with ball had a very poor record in India and Aus. 52 with bat had 40+ average in every country.

Taking career average and putting it side by side hardly works for comparing two bowlers or two batsmen. It's even harder when you compare batman with a bowler using career average.
 
Gary Sobers and Jacques Kallis were superior allrounders. They were much better batsmen and although Imran, at his peak, was one of the greatest fast bowlers ever, his peak was cut short by injury and did not last too long.
 
People will evaluate Murali differently based on their stand on certain issue.
 
Unless greatest means favourite, I'd side with the global cricketing fraternity and even Bradman himself that Sachin pulls ahead of the world cricketing pack. Not just the asian one.

Personally, if I could dip Asian cricketers in the fountain of youth and watch them play at their peak?

In descending order it would be:

Sanga, Imran, Waqar, Wasim, Dravid, Murali, Inzi and then Sachin.
 
Best bowler - Murlitharan
Best Batsman - Tendulkar
Best AR - Imran

All 3 have legitimate claims. Picking is a matter of personal choice.
 
Buffet said:
22 or 52 itself hardly tells you everything. All 22 or 52 won't be same. 22 with ball had a very poor record in India and Aus. 52 with bat had 40+ average in every country.

.
Click to expand...

Yeah I am not really sure if OP is serious when he is talks about taking numbers as a face value without properly dissecting them..

If you compare home vs away performances, SRT has superior and more complete record than any other asian cricketer.

So statement like "honest and educated fans" is nonsense really.

It's like saying Ambrose is better than Hadlee because Ambrose averaged 20.9 vs Hadlee's 22.2. Makes no sense
 
Lefthanded said:
Unless greatest means favourite, I'd side with the global cricketing fraternity and even Bradman himself that Sachin pulls ahead of the world cricketing pack. Not just the asian one.

.
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Bradman just said his wife had said sachin reminded her of Don at the crease because they were both 5'5, that doesn't mean don thought he was the 2nd best batter.

It's funny how indians twist these comments into legendary myths
 
jeetu said:
Best bowler - Murlitharan
Best Batsman - Tendulkar
Best AR - Imran

All 3 have legitimate claims. Picking is a matter of personal choice.
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If we are talking Test cricket I'll take Sangakkara over Sachin any day of the week thanks.

The guy who fronted up to bat as no 3, a much tougher position than the protected spot of 4, that alone should be worth 2 of the average. And even i spite of this Sanga averages 6-7 higher and was much better on the eye.

Used to love watching Sanga bat, so classy.
 
Imran for mine. Then a close call between Sachin and Murali for the second spot.
 
Imran all the way. As good a fast bowler as there has ever been, perhaps only behind Marshall. A capable test match batsman too. An excellent skipper.
 
Robert said:
Imran all the way. As good a fast bowler as there has ever been, perhaps only behind Marshall. A capable test match batsman too. An excellent skipper.
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SL_Fan said:
Imran for mine. Then a close call between Sachin and Murali for the second spot.
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SLcric123 said:
Imran seals it due to his captaincy. Second is Sachin followed by Murali.
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anindo said:
Imran Khan for sure.

Tendulkar had a wonderful career and had a huge impact on the sport in India and consequently in the world. But his promise fizzled out in the 2000s and he finished in a pack of 10-15 of the greatest batsmen to have played sport in stead of challenging Bradman.
Click to expand...

Junaids said:
It's Imran Khan by a colossal distance.

He was a top class fast bowler, fearsome from 1982-1988, but he also averaged with the bat the same as most Top Order batsmen in world cricket did at the time. And he was a great captain.
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All the neutrals thus far have picked Imran Khan. Like any unbiased, knowledgeable cricket fan should.
 
How do you compare all rounders VS bowlers VS batsmen VS wicket keepers? :13:

If the question who was the most valuable & important Test cricketer to their respective team?
 
Having Murali on this list is bit of a joke with that action of his lol... Anyway SRT followed by Imran for me...
 
If you are talking complete sportsman then IK hands down due to leadership

Otherwise IK and Sachin - its either one
 
I look at it this way.

If it was about the greatest ever cricketer

1. Bradman
2. Tendulkar
3. Sobers

Greatest ever Test Cricketer

1. Imran /Sobers/Warne
2. Marshall
3. Tendulkar

If it was about Test and ODI the complete package , Tendulkar wins hands down, only second to Bradman, because Imran was not that good in ODI's.

But if it's just Tests, they are quite a few cricketers in the world who would give Tendulkar a run for his money in different spots.

If it's about only Asian test cricketer, I have to say Imran wins hands down. But that is only limited to tests.

Once you include both formats, Tendulkar is the superior batsmen.

My opinion.
 
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
 
Bilal7 said:
All the neutrals thus far have picked Imran Khan. Like any unbiased, knowledgeable cricket fan should.
Click to expand...

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 :)
 
Dr_Bassim said:
I look at it this way.

If it was about the greatest ever cricketer

1. Bradman
2. Tendulkar
3. Sobers

Greatest ever Test Cricketer

1. Imran /Sobers/Warne
2. Marshall
3. Tendulkar

If it was about Test and ODI the complete package , Tendulkar wins hands down, only second to Bradman, because Imran was not that good in ODI's.

But if it's just Tests, they are quite a few cricketers in the world who would give Tendulkar a run for his money in different spots.

If it's about only Asian test cricketer, I have to say Imran wins hands down. But that is only limited to tests.

Once you include both formats, Tendulkar is the superior batsmen.

My opinion.
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Ironically Imrans biggest and most cherished achievement is in the ODI's - winning the World cup. And most regular fans in INd/Pak remember him for that.
 
Tusker said:
Ironically Imrans biggest and most cherished achievement is in the ODI's - winning the World cup. And most regular fans in INd/Pak remember him for that.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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