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The Greatest All-Rounder of All Time

The Sean

Cricketer Of The Year
There's no comparison between the Sri Lankan sides of the 80's and the non-descript collection of party poopers representing Bangladesh. Sri Lanka had a nucleus of Test quality cricketers (especially batsman) and were at least 10 years ahead of Bangladesh in development when they were given Test status.
I'd totally agree with this, but that wasn't the point that was being made - Sri Lanka were Test cricket's "minnows" of the time and it was said that Imran avoided the minnows. I didn't think he did, becuase he played quite a bit against the weakest team of the era.
 

Lillian Thomson

Hall of Fame Member
I'd totally agree with this, but that wasn't the point that was being made - Sri Lanka were Test cricket's "minnows" of the time and it was said that Imran avoided the minnows. I didn't think he did, becuase he played quite a bit against the weakest team of the era.
It's a moot point whether the weakest team of any era should automatically be called minnows. But anyway when I first said that it was just to point it out rather than wanting to get bogged down with which stats should be removed to prove whatever point was trying to be made.
 

The Sean

Cricketer Of The Year
It's a moot point whether the weakest team of any era should automatically be called minnows. But anyway when I first said that it was just to point it out rather than wanting to get bogged down with which stats should be removed to prove whatever point was trying to be made.
Yeah fair enough, I suppose there are differing levels of "minnow" - I consider the SL team of the early-mid 80s to have been minnows but still deserving of Test status, as opposed to current Bangladesh who to my mind aren't worthy of the title at all.
 

TT Boy

Hall of Fame Member
Could you give some examples? I'm not disbelieving you, but I'd be keen to see when it happened.
New Zealand at home. Missed the series (circa 1990) where Chris Pringle went ball tampering loopy. Imran said his presence would only make the mismatch between the two sides even more apparent.
 

The Sean

Cricketer Of The Year
New Zealand at home. Missed the series (circa 1990) where Chris Pringle went ball tampering loopy. Imran said his presence would only make the mismatch between the two sides even more apparent.
Thanks, hadn't heard that story before. Not sure how much difference the Imran of 1990 would necessarily have made (as opposed to the Imran of say 1982), but it's good to know regardless.
 

TT Boy

Hall of Fame Member
In pomp, Imran also missed the 1984/5 series against New Zealand at home. Zaheer Abbas captained the side in Khan's absence.
 

bagapath

International Captain
In pomp, Imran also missed the 1984/5 series against New Zealand at home. Zaheer Abbas captained the side in Khan's absence.
well he was not fit to play. it was not because he didnt choose to play against a weak team. as much a hero as he was to our generation, i cant take it that he is made into this super human hero who didnt want to fight with weaker opponents whereas in reality his actual USP was in performing super human deeds despite being very human, with a bad back and all that.
 

The Sean

Cricketer Of The Year
He did it mostly against Sri Lanka and sometimes against NZ as well(NZ in 80s were not exactly minnows but not world class either).
How often did he do it against Sri Lanka? He seemed to play them quite a lot.

And there were at least three countries worse than NZ for a fair amount of the 1980s, perhaps more than that at times. They were a good side.
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
From the time Sri Lanka were taken into the Test fold till the day Imran retired, Pakistan and Sri Lanka played four Test series and 12 Test matches. Imran missed the first two Tests and played all the rest.

Code:
[B]Series     Matches	Imran In[/B]
		
1981-1982 	3       	1
1985-1986 	3       	3
1985-1986 	3       	3
1991-1992 	3       	3
 

bagapath

International Captain
From the time Sri Lanka were taken into the Test fold till the day Imran retired, Pakistan and Sri Lanka played four Test series and 12 Test matches. Imran missed the first two Tests and played all the rest.

Code:
[B]Series     Matches	Imran In[/B]
		
1981-1982 	3       	1
1985-1986 	3       	3
1985-1986 	3       	3
1991-1992 	3       	3
yeah. thats what i have been saying. bhupinder makes these claims but goes into hiding when someone wants to see some proof.
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
yeah. thats what i have been saying. bhupinder makes these claims but goes into hiding when someone wants to see some proof.
Thats okay. As far as i am concerned he (and his posts) are perpetually in hiding:)
 
yeah. thats what i have been saying. bhupinder makes these claims but goes into hiding when someone wants to see some proof.
Thats probaly the only claim for which I couldn't present any substantial proofs.Other than this one,whenever I Maid a claim,I presented the proof.I said it on the basis that there were significant number of tests in 1980s in which Miandad captained the side while Imran rested,don't remember against which teams exactly but thought it would've been Sri Lanka or some other depled sides.But if thats not the case,I apologise.
 

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