Let's Talk About Pakistani Test Batsmen

[Pratters]

Whenever test batsmen are ranked, you hear names of Australians, English, West Indians and at times Indians mentioned. However, Pakistani batsmen are generally ignored in rating the best players of particular decades usually. It's as if whatever they do, they just aren't that good.

A_Rank pakistani great batsmen like Hanif Mohammed, Javed Miandad, Md. Yousuf (Youhana), Younis Khan, Inzamam and others you might think (with a few words where possible on each) in order of ranking - say form a list of top 5-10 Pakistani test batsmen

B) Where would you put them compared to the best in history

C) Why are Pakistani batsmen usually ignored when compared to players from other countries

 

[smash84]

Whenever test batsmen are ranked, you hear names of Australians, English, West Indians and at times Indians mentioned. However, Pakistani batsmen are generally ignored in rating the best players of particular decades usually. It's as if whatever they do, they just aren't that good.

A_Rank pakistani great batsmen like Hanif Mohammed, Javed Miandad, Md. Yousuf (Youhana), Younis Khan, Inzamam and others you might think (with a few words where possible on each) in order of ranking - say form a list of top 5-10 Pakistani test batsmen

B) Where would you put them compared to the best in history

C) Why are Pakistani batsmen usually ignored when compared to players from other countries

Because no Pakistan batsman was really as good as the top tier of batsmen such as Lara, Tendulkar, Viv, Chappell, (even Sangakkara), Ponting etc

 

[Pratters]

I am not sure how Inzamam is worse than say a Steve Waugh or a Dravid. Averages of Inzamam -

in Australia 44 (8 tests)
in England 55 (13 tests)
in NZ 59.5 (9 tests)
in SA 31 (8 tests) - every batsman has a boogie country, so it's not that big a deal.

 

[Red]

I rate MoYo, Inzamam and Javed Miandad very very highly.

But you're right, I think they get forgotten. Might be that they don't go back as far historically as other nations. When did Pakistan first play tests?

 

[Pratters]

Pakistan first played tests in 1952. However, cricketers from Pakistan in Unified India have been playing tests since 1932. The bowlers being so full of dynamism and greatness tends to cast a shadow on the batsmen some what. It doesn't help that most Pakistani batsmen seem to have a poorer technique compared to their counterparts from some other test playing nations. However, this is not true for the 'best' Pakistani batsmen most of the times but it plays against them.

 

[Pratters]

Most prolific batsmen:

Younis Khan - 8000 plus runs @ 53.----- 28 100s
Miandad ------- 8000 plus runs @ 52.5 -- 23 100s
Yousuf --------- 7500 plus runs @ 52 ----- 24 100s
Inzamam ------ 8800 runs @ 49.60 -------- 25 100s

 

[Pratters]

I wonder how much of an impact playing lower number of tests has. Pakistan tends to play less tests compared to other nations. So Miandad ended up with lesser runs than Gavaskar and Border. In the next era, Inzamam ended up with lesser runs than his counterparts from other nations. Lower tests does not affect the figures of fast bowlers too much as fast bowlers tend to have a smaller career span compared to batsmen in terms of number of tests.

 

[Coronis]

Really loving this second wind Younis Khan's been having, I rate him, Yousuf and Javed very highly. Not quite at the top though, which is why they aren't mentioned as much.

 

[Prince EWS]

I am not sure how Inzamam is worse than say a Steve Waugh or a Dravid. Averages of Inzamam -

in Australia 44 (8 tests)
in England 55 (13 tests)
in NZ 59.5 (9 tests)
in SA 31 (8 tests) - every batsman has a boogie country, so it's not that big a deal.

These stats are just wrong. I suspect you looked at the strike rate column by mistake.

Inzy averaged 30 in Australia and 43 in England.

 

[Athlai]

These stats are just wrong. I suspect you looked at the strike rate column by mistake.

Inzy averaged 30 in Australia and 43 in England.

Yeah but an odd thread, I don't think Pakistani batsman are underrated at all, we just rarely discuss the Steve Waughs and Dravids of the world outside of the context of an ATG Australian or Indian XI. We rarely talk about the best 15-100 batsman in history.

 

[Hurricane]

I didn't see much of Inzamam but rate Miandad head and shoulders over the other two mentioned.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Because no Pakistan batsman was really as good as the top tier of batsmen such as Lara, Tendulkar, Viv, Chappell, (even Sangakkara), Ponting etc

Pretty much this.

 

[Antihippy]

Pakistan sure have some GOAT bowlers though.

 

[OverratedSanity]

I am not sure how Inzamam is worse than say a Steve Waugh or a Dravid. Averages of Inzamam -

in Australia 44 (8 tests)
in England 55 (13 tests)
in NZ 59.5 (9 tests)
in SA 31 (8 tests) - every batsman has a boogie country, so it's not that big a deal.

Inzi was great but he was most definitely worse than Waugh and Dravid, surely.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Miandad surely the greatest of all Pakistani batsmen. Rate him pretty high.

Next I would like to rank Hanif Mohammad. He excelled against some really great bowlers like Lindwall, Davidson, Benaud, Snow, Hall etc.

 

[harsh.ag]

Inzi was pure class. Always had a lot of time to play fast bowlers, and high pace never bothered him. Was prone to being worked over though, and his lazy footwork sometimes used to put him in trouble with swing bowlers.

 

[Pratters]

These stats are just wrong. I suspect you looked at the strike rate column by mistake.

Inzy averaged 30 in Australia and 43 in England.

Oh.

 

[fredfertang]

Always loved Inzy - for a bloke who, to put it bluntly, is built much more like me than a professional athlete, his nimble footwork was a joy to behold

 

[Red]

Always loved Inzy - for a bloke who, to put it bluntly, is built much more like me than a professional athlete, his nimble footwork was a joy to behold

Always looked so languid, but then hit with such power and timing.

 

[watson]

'Languid' 'nimble footwork' wtf?