Can Pathan be as good as Wasim?

[Anil]

I agree that it's ridiculous to speculate abt. whether pathan will be as good as Akram.But, some people here seem to suggest that he's a mediocre bowler,all hype and that there's no reason to be excited abt. him.This I don't agree with.
At 19 this guy swings the ball both ways with great control (which is the hard part). I heard Imran Khan say today that even Wasim took some time to develop the inswinger to the left-hander when he started. He bowls well with the old ball. He's got wickets of great batsmen like S.Waugh,Gilchrist,Hayden at crucial points in the match. He has a fantastic temperement.He comes back after he gets hit for fours and pitches the ball up bravely. He'll most likely bowl faster in a couple of years.Every ex-cricketer that's come across him's been impressed.So there's definitely cause for Indian fans to be excited abt. him.

Getting excited about a player and overhyping him are two different things. Let him perform well consistently for a couple of seasons before starting all these comparisons. Many players with potential just won't be able to stand the pressure and will fade away. Not everyone can be as mentally tough as Sachin Tendulkar.

 

[shankar]

Getting excited about a player and overhyping him are two different things. Let him perform well consistently for a couple of seasons before starting all these comparisons. Many players with potential just won't be able to stand the pressure and will fade away. Not everyone can be as mentally tough as Sachin Tendulkar.

Where have I over-hyped him in my post? Where have I compared him to anyone? I've said that it's absurd to compare him to Akram. There's a chance that he might fade away or fail to deliver on his promise like Zaheer. But that doesn't change the fact that right now he is an exciting prospect.

 

[Anil]

Where have I over-hyped him in my post? Where have I compared him to anyone? I've said that it's absurd to compare him to Akram. There's a chance that he might fade away or fail to deliver on his promise like Zaheer. But that doesn't change the fact that right now he is an exciting prospect.

Not specifically you, I'm sorry if I implied that, but a lot of people have given either extremely positive or extremely negative statements about this kid in this thread and really, both are unwarranted at this point in his career.

 

[ajaagarkarajaaja]

What's your obsession with me being a fan of Shabbir?!!!

I'd take those 2 over Pathan and Khan for sure though - they've actually done something in International Cricket for a start.

Hahaha Yes they have done something, and that is getting thrashed at the hand of Batsmen.
Only a blind captain would prefer loonies like Shabbir and Sami over Pathan and Khan.

 

[marc71178]

Hahaha Yes they have done something, and that is getting thrashed at the hand of Batsmen.

You looked at the records of Pathan and Khan recently?

Only a blind captain would prefer loonies like Shabbir and Sami over Pathan and Khan.

Loonies? Aside from the better career records? :rolleyes:

 

[ajaagarkarajaaja]

You looked at the records of Pathan and Khan recently?



:

Pathan has just started his career, i think Multan test was his 3 test match and he got 4 wkts in the match, the loonies in contrast just got hammered.

And Pathan was easily the best bowler in the ODI series.

Sami has a terrible recent record (both in Test and OD) while Shabbir had some success against lowly ranked team or depleted sides.

BOth guys makes headlines for "wrong reasons" , Sahbbir makes headlines for "suspect action" while Sami makes headlines for giving 20+ extras.

 

[marc71178]

Sami makes headlines for giving 20+ extras.

Erm, looking at the current game, you can hardly accuse the Pakistani's of giving away too many extras...

 

[ajaagarkarajaaja]

Erm, looking at the current game, you can hardly accuse the Pakistani's of giving away too many extras...

Agreed completely, and that was Pak pacers ONLY ACHIEVEMENT

They certainly have set high standard for themselves.

 

[masterblaster]

Marc, I cannot for the world of me understand why you think India's fast bowling is so dismal.

You want to see the records of Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan?

Pathan is 19 for god sake, he's only played 3 test matches in his entire career, you expect him to have a RECORD?

Cmon Marc, your much smarter than that. Pathan has so much potential, and with time, with games and with experience that 'record' is only going to get better.

Records need TIME to develop, nobody starts of with 250+ wickets at an average of 21 or 25, it needs time, work, effort and consistency. Sami averages around 40 with the ball in test matches (and he has been playing for years), yet you still rate Sami so highly.

So what if Pathan is averaging 50 with the ball at the moment, he's only played 3 tests. If he ends up averaging 50 after 15 tests, then yes I agree, he's no good. But with the type of overs he's bowling, his record is getting better and better every match.

Clearly to me, he is something special and yet I can't believe people who havent seen much of Pathan criticise him so much. He has a great attitude, never tires of bowling and can swing the ball more than any other 19 year old or veteran bowler in world cricket.

Pathan's ODI record is extremely impressive as well, for a young bowler who has burst onto the scene. He has done what Hoggard, Caddick and co. couldnt do in 2002, he shattered the stumps of Gilchrist and got Steve Waugh with a brilliant swinging delivery.

Yet you give them so much unfair criticism. What do Indian fast bowlers have to do to win you over?

 

[V Reddy]

Marc, I cannot for the world of me understand why you think India's fast bowling is so dismal.

You want to see the records of Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan?

Pathan is 19 for god sake, he's only played 3 test matches in his entire career, you expect him to have a RECORD?

Cmon Marc, your much smarter than that. Pathan has so much potential, and with time, with games and with experience that 'record' is only going to get better.

Records need TIME to develop, nobody starts of with 250+ wickets at an average of 21 or 25, it needs time, work, effort and consistency. Sami averages around 40 with the ball in test matches (and he has been playing for years), yet you still rate Sami so highly.

So what if Pathan is averaging 50 with the ball at the moment, he's only played 3 tests. If he ends up averaging 50 after 15 tests, then yes I agree, he's no good. But with the type of overs he's bowling, his record is getting better and better every match.

Clearly to me, he is something special and yet I can't believe people who havent seen much of Pathan criticise him so much. He has a great attitude, never tires of bowling and can swing the ball more than any other 19 year old or veteran bowler in world cricket.

Pathan's ODI record is extremely impressive as well, for a young bowler who has burst onto the scene. He has done what Hoggard, Caddick and co. couldnt do in 2002, he shattered the stumps of Gilchrist and got Steve Waugh with a brilliant swinging delivery.

Yet you give them so much unfair criticism. What do Indian fast bowlers have to do to win you over?

I think Marc was just having a go at Agarkar. I am sure he rates Pathan quite highly too after the reviews he read of him.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Pathan is 19 for god sake, he's only played 3 test matches in his entire career, you expect him to have a RECORD?

Cmon Marc, your much smarter than that. Pathan has so much potential, and with time, with games and with experience that 'record' is only going to get better.

Ah, but he has played 34 FC games already, 31 of which were not Test matches. Therefore he does have a record of sort. True, he hasn't come into his prime as yet, and I'm not denying his talent, but he really has performed consistently as yet.

 

[ReallyCrazy]

Marc, I cannot for the world of me understand why you think India's fast bowling is so dismal.

You want to see the records of Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan?

Pathan is 19 for god sake, he's only played 3 test matches in his entire career, you expect him to have a RECORD?

Cmon Marc, your much smarter than that. Pathan has so much potential, and with time, with games and with experience that 'record' is only going to get better.

Records need TIME to develop, nobody starts of with 250+ wickets at an average of 21 or 25, it needs time, work, effort and consistency. Sami averages around 40 with the ball in test matches (and he has been playing for years), yet you still rate Sami so highly.

So what if Pathan is averaging 50 with the ball at the moment, he's only played 3 tests. If he ends up averaging 50 after 15 tests, then yes I agree, he's no good. But with the type of overs he's bowling, his record is getting better and better every match.

Clearly to me, he is something special and yet I can't believe people who havent seen much of Pathan criticise him so much. He has a great attitude, never tires of bowling and can swing the ball more than any other 19 year old or veteran bowler in world cricket.

Pathan's ODI record is extremely impressive as well, for a young bowler who has burst onto the scene. He has done what Hoggard, Caddick and co. couldnt do in 2002, he shattered the stumps of Gilchrist and got Steve Waugh with a brilliant swinging delivery.

Yet you give them so much unfair criticism. What do Indian fast bowlers have to do to win you over?

It does not matter whether somebody like marc is "won" over. The fact and truth remains whether someone acknowledges it or not. Pathan has burst onto the international scene with a bang. For someone so young, he seems very mature. He can only get better. Right now, I wouldn't compare him with any pakistani pacer since all of them have been playing for some time. I will wait for sometime to pass before making a judgemment.

But that doesn't mean that the pakistan bowlers are any good. They are supposedly a stronger attack. The whole world witnessed them being thrashed in the ODIs and then again now in this test match. Shabbir and sami are both very bad bowlers. They have no consistency, especially shabbir. Sami might be classified as a good strike bowler at times but not by much.

It must have been a "very nice feeling" for sami and Akhtar when they were so consistent, I mean consistently getting swatted by BALAJI for sixes.

 

[marc71178]

What do Indian fast bowlers have to do to win you over?

Perform.

At the moment none of them average under 35...

 

[Anil]

Marc is right, whenever the indian bowlers have performed well recently, it has been on a solid platform set for them by the batsmen from where they can attack the opposition batsmen. I don't recall any recent instances of the bowlers scripting a victory even after the top batsmen failed. Whenever the batsmen have failed, what I have seen is the bowlers falling over in a heap and even when the batsmen succeed, the bowlers haven't always been seen to follow through. The sad truth is we don't have that great an attack at the best of times and we do have a mediocre one at worst.

 

[ajaagarkarajaaja]

But that doesn't mean that the pakistan bowlers are any good. They are supposedly a stronger attack. The whole world witnessed them being thrashed in the ODIs and then again now in this test match. Shabbir and sami are both very bad bowlers. They have no consistency, especially shabbir. Sami might be classified as a good strike bowler at times but not by much.

It must have been a "very nice feeling" for sami and Akhtar when they were so consistent, I mean consistently getting swatted by BALAJI for sixes.

That's what i have been saying all along, a bowler should be judge by his peformance rather than being inflenced by media hype.

I have an honest question, can anyone name any pacer in the world that has conceded more runs than Sami during the period of last 4 months??

Sami and Shabbir are indeed match winners, its just that they are match winners for opposition!

 

[masterblaster]

Yeah, definitely I think Sami has been getting a lot of credit for just being fast and destructive on occasions.

He is a very talented bowler, but is as inconsistent any Indian bowler.

 

[harry674]

probably better as he is only 19.

 

[Anil]

India win by an innings and 52 runs! Hope they can hold on to or increase this lead in a series abroad this time around....

 

[hindmaatujesalam]

Why do people have this obsession of comparing a bright newcommer with former greats?

No, Irfan is not Akram and will never be Akram.He simply doesn't need to be Akram , like there is one Akram and one McGrath, there is also one Irfan Pathan.

The way Irfan has started his career suggest that he will end up as a legend in cricket world. Miandad tried to mock Pathan by saying that guys likePathan are in every street of Pakistan, but guess what happened? After the OD series the pakistani batsmen( Youhanna in particular) were so terrified of facing Pathan on grass top wicket that Youhanna persuaded the entire team to remove gass of the multan turf!!!

Inspite of that Pathan stood out as the best pacer in the match.Guys like Pathan are once in a generation bowler, after the multan test Inzi would indeed must be wishing if only Pakistan had Pathan in their team.

 

[imranrabb]

He can never be as good as Akram,bowlers like him come around once every millenium.All Pathan does is swing it one way at a pace of 80 mph but at his age he should be bowling at the late 80s.Didnt Nehra and Khan also get compared to Akram.