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Imran Khan interview

nightprowler10

Global Moderator
I have lost you there, so No. 3 is no good especially when it is considered one of the best Draft ever and the other two drafted ahead were 7'+ centers?
I think this is the key point here regarding why he was picked no. 3. Potentially great centers have always been extremely tough to come by, whereas great guards were widely available even then. Not sure of his reputation at the time, but the fact Stockton was picked no. 16 behind a bunch of centers and forwards further proves this point IMO.
 

Sanz

Hall of Fame Member
I think this is the key point here regarding why he was picked no. 3. Potentially great centers have always been extremely tough to come by, whereas great guards were widely available even then. Not sure of his reputation at the time, but the fact Stockton was picked no. 16 behind a bunch of centers and forwards further proves this point IMO.
1984 Draft Jordan Pick By bulls (ahead of Barkley and Stockton) , Listen to the reaction of fans and what the commentators had to say

YouTube - NBA Draft 1984 - Michael Jordan (Pick NO.3)


Good Article on Class of 84.
The Case for 1984 - Pick the Best NBA Draft Class
 

Black_Warrior

Cricketer Of The Year
I certainly don't agree with his views on Wasim and Waqar. I personally feel Waqar was the one who was a little laid back and more talented. The problem is, many ex-cricketers, cricket writers and Fans link 'talent' to 'romantic cricket'. Wasim could move the ball a mile, Waqar and Donald could pitch the ball up to the stumps every ball. Both different 'talents'. Both equally awesome.

This occurs while judging batting as well. Mark Waugh had the uncanny knack of playing his shots 'the way they are supposed to be played', while Steve Waugh changed his game early in his career to go on from a flashy average Batsman to one of the greatest the game has seen. Sure, his shots weren't exactly as delicately carved as those of Frank Wooley. But he got the runs. He got the runs. This might lead to people saying Mark Waugh 'wasted' his talent while ol' Steve overachieved 'as he had no batting talent but was filled with grit and determination'. Rubbish view IMO.

and yeah, Ashraful is not talented, thanks.
But how do you define talent though? I think the reason people have different takes is because different people define talent differently.

For me, talent is not necessarily associated with achievement and performances. It is possible for a less talented player to out perform a more talented player on some occasions.
Talent is not something that can be quantified. It is something that a player is born with.
For example, I believe Umar Akmal is a very talented player, he has tremendous hand-eye co ordination..you cannot teach those things and he hasn't attended batting classes by Chappell or Gavaskar. Thats talent. But I still believe he does not deserve a place in the Test side.. He lacks temperament of a test batsman. He needs more time to play first class cricket and improve his temperament.

Similarly, I feel Ashraful is talented.. why? well lets put it this way, the kind of shots that he can play, lot of batsmen in the world do not have those shots. But that does not change the fact that he is a failure. He does not deserve a place in the Test side and should not be picked unless he consistently performs in the first class matches for 2 years.

Now coming back to Wasim, Waqar and Imran, I believe Wasim was the most talented of the lot. The reason I say that is because he had more abilities than then..he could do more stuff than them..Imran start at 17, was not good enough, and was dropped. He didnt make it back for another 4 years. Waqar, was also pretty ordinary and the only reason he was picked by Imran was because of his ability to bowl fast (That is God given talent too). Wasim on the other hand, right from the moment go he made test cricket and fast bowling his own. Now I am not saying Wasim as a result is better than than Imran or Waqar. That is a different argument. I feel Waqar on his day could be more threatening and deadly than Wasim. What Imran did against a strong Indian side on flat pitches in 84, Wasim never did something like that.

I am merely trying to separate the issue of talent here. Waqar post injury and minus his extra pace 2000 onwards was merely a shadow of his former self, whereas Wasim post injury, minus his pace was still a threat till the end of his career because he had other abilities, mainly his variety and the stuff he could do by merely changing the angle of his wrists.


Having said all that, I love all three of them and I love Imran Khan more than Wasim and Waqar combined. :dry:
 

Teja.

Global Moderator
Now coming back to Wasim, Waqar and Imran, I believe Wasim was the most talented of the lot. The reason I say that is because he had more abilities than then..he could do more stuff than them..Imran start at 17, was not good enough, and was dropped. He didnt make it back for another 4 years. Waqar, was also pretty ordinary and the only reason he was picked by Imran was because of his ability to bowl fast (That is God given talent too). Wasim on the other hand, right from the moment go he made test cricket and fast bowling his own. Now I am not saying Wasim as a result is better than than Imran or Waqar. That is a different argument. I feel Waqar on his day could be more threatening and deadly than Wasim. What Imran did against a strong Indian side on flat pitches in 84, Wasim never did something like that.
I don't want to start a fight and forgive me if I'm wrong but,

I am off the understanding that Wasim, though a very good bowler in his initial years was not the ATG bowler he went on to become.

In his initial four years, He had impressive but not insane statistics of 94 wickets @ 28 in 29 games with a SR of 65.5. This is a shadow off the Wasim Akram who we have since grown to gasp in awe of.

On the contrary, Waqar when he was handpicked by Imran was certainly anything but ordinary. In fact, Waqar during those initial four years, was, many believe, the finest fast bowler to grace cricket. In his first five years in cricket, Waqar had taken 190 wickets @ 19 in 33 games with a SR of 36. These figures are truly astounding and not to degenerate Wasim's achievements or anything but, Waqar in his first four years of cricket took around twice as many wickets in about the same amount of games @ about half the SR of Wasim during Wasim's first four years.

Not saying you should not have your opinion about talent but rather just pointing out the slight error in your post. :)
 

slowfinger

International Debutant
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Black_Warrior

Cricketer Of The Year
I don't want to start a fight and forgive me if I'm wrong but,

I am off the understanding that Wasim, though a very good bowler in his initial years was not the ATG bowler he went on to become.

In his initial four years, He had impressive but not insane statistics of 94 wickets @ 28 in 29 games with a SR of 65.5. This is a shadow off the Wasim Akram who we have since grown to gasp in awe of.

On the contrary, Waqar when he was handpicked by Imran was certainly anything but ordinary. In fact, Waqar during those initial four years, was, many believe, the finest fast bowler to grace cricket. In his first five years in cricket, Waqar had taken 190 wickets @ 19 in 33 games with a SR of 36. These figures are truly astounding and not to degenerate Wasim's achievements or anything but, Waqar in his first four years of cricket took around twice as many wickets in about the same amount of games @ about half the SR of Wasim during Wasim's first four years.

Not saying you should not have your opinion about talent but rather just pointing out the slight error in your post.
You are right. When I said Waqar was ordinary, I meant before he started playing test cricket. He hadnt done anything spectacular and the only reason he was picked was for his pace. Wasim on the other hand made his way into the squad by getting selected in the proper way.

Yes Waqar in his intial years, before any injury was the best fast bowler period. No two ways about it.


Point I was trying to make was Waqar's special ability was his pace and ability to reverse swing the ball..but once he had lost his pace, even his reverse was not that deadly. Wasim on the other hand, even after injuries had slowed him down, he developed other skills, varying his length, swing, wrist etc to still do the job.
Yes Waqar without injuries beats Wasim without injuries
Wasim post injuries beats Waqar post injuries
 
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Black_Warrior

Cricketer Of The Year
Slow Finger
:laugh::laugh:

Its ok dont take him seriously.. Most people lack self confidence and belief in themselves..so when they see someone with tremendous self confidence and belief, they call him arrogant. Imran is not the first person to be called arrogant for his self confidence.

Glenn McGrath before every test series used to pick a batsman from the opposing side, Lara, Dravid, Inzamam, Kallis, Tendulkar and would claim that he would get them out. Lot of people called that arrogance too..thats tremendous self confidence
 
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subshakerz

International Coach
Pretty inexplicable reasons those

Now regarding his arrogance in political, I for one do not think he is at all arrogant as a politician..but to dwell more on that would be off topic on this forum.

As for arrogance as a cricketer.. I dont think that is arrogance. That is self confidence and strong belief in oneself. It is extremely important to have that to achieve anything in life especially when it comes to something like sports.

Tendulkar might come across as modest in his public appearance and I respect him for that but I am sure that in his mind, he knows and believes that he is the best batsman in the world. That is not arrogance at all. That belief gives him strength and motivation.

Nothing wrong it at all.
I agree with this. Imran's statements dont come across as arrogance to me, just self-belief and a feeling of accomplishment. He achieved more in his career than pretty much anyone short of Bradman and Sobers.
 

Faisal1985

International Vice-Captain
I don't want to start a fight and forgive me if I'm wrong but,

I am off the understanding that Wasim, though a very good bowler in his initial years was not the ATG bowler he went on to become.

In his initial four years, He had impressive but not insane statistics of 94 wickets @ 28 in 29 games with a SR of 65.5. This is a shadow off the Wasim Akram who we have since grown to gasp in awe of.

On the contrary, Waqar when he was handpicked by Imran was certainly anything but ordinary. In fact, Waqar during those initial four years, was, many believe, the finest fast bowler to grace cricket. In his first five years in cricket, Waqar had taken 190 wickets @ 19 in 33 games with a SR of 36. These figures are truly astounding and not to degenerate Wasim's achievements or anything but, Waqar in his first four years of cricket took around twice as many wickets in about the same amount of games @ about half the SR of Wasim during Wasim's first four years.

Not saying you should not have your opinion about talent but rather just pointing out the slight error in your post. :)
Hit the nail on the head with this...

Before the injury Waqar was a total gun and Pak's 1st bowler (i think i read it some where) to crack into the top 10 bowlers the quickest...i think after 10 or 11 tests...then i think either Asif broke his record or became the 2nd to get into the top ten after 10 or 11 tests....i need a confirmation on this but i am pretty sure the case is some what similar to this...

Akram by all means of the best left arm fast bowlers...but certainly not THE best fast bowler...
 

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