Murali The Greatest Asian Cricketer Ever

[Ikki]

Greatest =/= Best

Good point. For some reason I was looking at this purely in a ability/achievement based way. If all intangibles are taken into account I'd be leaning towards Sachin over Murali. I think Imran is still the best though - he could be the 2nd greatest cricketer of all-time, so his claim is an incredibly strong one.

 

[benchmark00]

 

[vcs]

Good point. For some reason I was looking at this purely in a ability/achievement based way. If all intangibles are taken into account I'd be leaning towards Sachin over Murali. I think Imran is still the best though - he could be the 2nd greatest cricketer of all-time, so his claim is an incredibly strong one.

I would say the opposite actually.. if you went just off the completeness of stats etc., Sachin is probably marginally ahead of Murali, especially in Tests, but IMO Murali is much bigger for SL cricket than Sachin for India (as unfathomable as that sounds considering the size of Sachin's celebrity in India!), he largely carried their attack on his shoulders while Sachin had better batting support for a good stretch of his career.

 

[Ikki]

I think it's hard to compare in that sense. In my first rating, I take into consideration that Murali is a once in several generations bowler whereas there is more or less a Sachin every generation.

 

[TumTum]

I would say the opposite actually.. if you went just off the completeness of stats etc., Sachin is probably marginally ahead of Murali, especially in Tests, but IMO Murali is much bigger for SL cricket than Sachin for India (as unfathomable as that sounds considering the size of Sachin's celebrity in India!), he largely carried their attack on his shoulders while Sachin had better batting support for a good stretch of his career.

That is kind of irrelevant when looking at the non-performance wise of the story though. Sachin is a bigger figure in world cricket than Murali, this is probably the only argument where his huge fan base is a big factor in the discussion.

 

[vcs]

I think it's hard to compare in that sense. In my first rating, I take into consideration that Murali is a once in several generations bowler whereas there is more or less a Sachin every generation.

Well, I think both are once in several generations in their respective disciplines. But Murali had to bear a larger burden for his team IMO, and he did it manfully.

 

[smash84]

I.

Wasim in the shake up too?

Wasim definitely in the consideration set for the places below top 3. He doesn't edge out Murali or Sachin.

I still can't make up my mind regarding Tendy or Murali.

Tendulkar is as much a household name in Pakistan as any Indian ever might have been so there is definitely that bias in my mind. However as vcs pointed our that Murali carried out a lot of bowling responsibilities without any support from the other end. Sachin did have some measure of support.

 

[vcs]

Wasim had amazing longevity for a fast bowler, didn't he? He debuted in the early to mid 80s... hmm.... think he should be in this debate as well in that case. Also like Sachin and Murali, he was sensational in all forms of the game.

 

[Migara]

I'd like to do it after Sachin retires.

 

[vcs]

I'd like to do it after Sachin retires.

That'll be 2040 then?

 

[smash84]

Wasim had amazing longevity for a fast bowler, didn't he? He debuted in the early to mid 80s... hmm.... think he should be in this debate as well in that case. Also like Sachin and Murali, he was sensational in all forms of the game.

He wasn't as good in tests tbh. Although his motm performances are second to no other bowler.

 

[biased indian]

sachin> Murali>imran>Akram>kapil

thats the top 5 for me

 

[Bun]

I think it's hard to compare in that sense. In my first rating, I take into consideration that Murali is a once in several generations bowler whereas there is more or less a Sachin every generation.

Really? A 200 test and 500 ODI player?

Oh you meant Sachin has been there for quite some generations now

 

[smash84]

Oh you meant Sachin has been there for quite some generations now

 

[biased indian]

Really? A 200 test and 500 ODI player?

Oh you meant Sachin has been there for quite some generations now

 

[Jono]

Haha that was quite good.

 

[kingkallis]

Sachin is like wine - gets better with age. He has clearly beaten Murali in last 2 years as a cricketer.

For me, Sachin > Murali > Imran ( Kind of overrated hunk )

 

[smash84]

Sachin is like wine - gets better with age. He has clearly beaten Murali in last 2 years as a cricketer.

Imran ( Kind of overrated hunk )

 

[ankitj]

Will rate Tendulkar above Murali once Tendulkar breaks the 900 ICC rating point barrier and gets somewhere close to the Murali's peak in terms of ICC rating points. It's a good indicator of the fact that Tendulkar did not totally set cricket ablaze for a considerable length of time, which is just about the reason why he might not make it to my all time world XI. Ref

 

[smash84]

lol.........I thought you will post a link to your analysis of value ratings thread for bowlers and batsmen :P........