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saeed anwar wasted potential?

salman85

International Debutant
Amir Sohail and Ramiz Raja were the first choice openers for Pakistan during the early 1990S,and doing a decent job.Saeed Anwar became a regular when Ramiz went into decline.Also,his performances from 1989 till 1992 hardly set the world on fire.He developed in the next few years,and he became a regular for the team for the next decade.

He was hardly a wasted talent.Infact,he was one of our most regular members in the team during the 1990s so i don't know where anyone would get the notion that his potential was wasted,or unfairly treated.He was had talent,was given ample chance to display it,and he did it superbly.

And for the record,he had became a regular in our ODI side by 1993.Not 1995 as the OP states.
 

smash84

The Tiger King
yeah he became a regular in the ODI side after he smashed 3 consecutive centuries (2 against the WI) in 1993 IIRC
 
i heard saeed anwar early in his career had trouble getting in to the team because of his ethnic background, lets be honest in those cricket was mostly punjab dominated, hardly any players from karachi, sindh, pashtun areas existed in the team, luckily that changed a bit in the 90's
 

smash84

The Tiger King
ermm not really, Hanif, Mushtaq Mohd, Javed Miandad, even Saeed Anwar are all from Karachi. Also Punjab usually has the best cricketers in Pakistan and I say this being a karachite.

Another interesting question is why only players from Punjab and Karachi? Why not other parts of Pakistan? The interesting part is that the Karachi lobby shuts its mouth once its players are in the team and doesn't give a damn if nobody from Balochistan ever represented Pakistan.
 

salman85

International Debutant
Cricket in Pakistan took root in the elite of Lahore.And a lot of this had to do with how Lahore was the most important city to the British Raj on our side of pre-partition India.So everything that the British brought to our part of the world,whether it was sport or educational institutes,Lahore and the Punjab generally,was going to have a lion's share of it during the initial years.
 
^ not only cricket actually, everything also, especially baluchistan/KP, Azad kashmir/northern areas got nothing with being part of pakistan, no wonder they are hating punjab now. Buts thats another non cricket discussion
 

cricpk

U19 12th Man
What i think is anyone who is good, plays for Pakistan. I hate people crying for why our players are not in the side, what is meant by Our? If i am from Sialkot Region for example, or from Rawalpindi Region or from Karachi Region, i should not fight for players from my area. What we should fight for is best players should represent Pakistan. Either all are from Lahore, Karachi, peshawar, Quetta or Sialkot.
 

smash84

The Tiger King
^ not only cricket actually, everything also, especially baluchistan/KP, Azad kashmir/northern areas got nothing with being part of pakistan, no wonder they are hating punjab now. Buts thats another non cricket discussion
and you think that karachites are universally loved in the rest of pakistan? Dude get out of karachi and see for yourself. Karachites are the supposed to be the most despicable of all city dwellers in Pakistan.
 

Agent Nationaux

International Coach
I have never met anyone who hates people from Karachi. It's usually, that they hate MQM. However as someone hailing from Punjab, I must say that there is unfairness on the rest of the country, not only for cricket but a lot of other things as well.
 

salman85

International Debutant
There is only a lack of fairness in the political system.There is nothing of that sort in sports.There has never been an issue where a player was picked or rejected on the basis of ethnicity,and this doesn't apply to cricket,but even hockey and football.
 

smash84

The Tiger King
tbf.....there is a lack of fairness in almost everything in Pakistan. This thread is going wayyyy off topic though
 

Cricketismylife

U19 12th Man
One of my favourite players. Hard to believe he only played 55 tests...a stylish attacking player who could score runs against strong attacks.
 

subshakerz

International Coach
didn't really score much in Australia or South Africa though
Had a good series against McWarne in 99 and against Donald/Pollock in 98. Didnt play enough though.

I rate Anwar quite highly, right up there with Hayden and Sehwag, just didn't play enough cricket. He managed an average of 45 in arguably the worst time to be an opener is cricket history. Scored three consecutive tons against McGrath. Did any opener do better than him in the 90s? I have little doubt that if he continued in the 2000s, his average like Yousuf and Inzi would be bumped up over 50.
 

Top_Cat

Request Your Custom Title Now!
I rate him too but two of the three tons you mentioned came on the flattest decks imaginable. The pitches in that series were heart-breakers. Brisbane knock was a good'un but, again, was a fast-scoring pitch.

For such a gun looking player, could be awfully loose outside off-stump. That's what prevents me from saying he'd have averaged 50+ even in easier times, tbh. 45 for an opener is still a hell of a record, though.
 
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