Asif Iqbal or Mohinder Amarnath?

[Bouncer]

Just looked at another thread and made me qs. who would be better batsman?

 

[ret]

Amarnath for me .... terrific in the WI, Aus and Pak, iirc

 

[Anil]

jimmy amarnath well ahead in the batting stakes...

 

[SJS]

Asif Iqbal has to be one of the most under rated cricketers of Pakistan. He could hold his own in ANY company. A man for all seasons and all formats.

He could do anything, bat, bowl, field anywhere, organise tournaments, fix matches, deal with bookies .... anything. A true all rounder.

Seriously, but for his shenanigans in Sharjah, a truly under-rated giant from Pakistan.

 

[cowboysfan]

you guys have to stop with the who is better threads-totally pointless and that is all there is on the front page of cricket chat.

 

[fredfertang]

Asif Iqbal has to be one of the most under rated cricketers of Pakistan. He could hold his own in ANY company. A man for all seasons and all formats.

He could do anything, bat, bowl, field anywhere, organise tournaments, fix matches, deal with bookies .... anything. A true all rounder.

Seriously, but for his shenanigans in Sharjah, a truly under-rated giant from Pakistan.

I remember Asif looking like he was going to win the 1971 Gilette Cup for Kent on his own - Lancashire couldn't set a field for him and he was unlucky to be dismissed by a stunning catch by Jack Bond at point - the harbinger of Collingwood, Rhodes etc

He was always marvellous to watch and I dont think his figures truly reflect his worth as a batsman though in that era as a man who usually came in surprisingly low in the order he was frequently involved in the bonus point dash so perhaps that was why.

 

[SJS]

I remember Asif looking like he was going to win the 1971 Gilette Cup for Kent on his own - Lancashire couldn't set a field for him and he was unlucky to be dismissed by a stunning catch by Jack Bond at point - the harbinger of Collingwood, Rhodes etc

He was always marvellous to watch and I dont think his figures truly reflect his worth as a batsman though in that era as a man who usually came in surprisingly low in the order he was frequently involved in the bonus point dash so perhaps that was why.

He was also very unconventional. He did not look as if he had been coached or at least coached by someone who was a traditionalist. He was a very instinctive and natural cricketer. Wonderful to watch as you say.

A truly great one day cricketer. A bit before his time for this format I believe. If he had been playing today, I think he would have been a real star.

 

[Richard]

you guys have to stop with the who is better threads-totally pointless and that is all there is on the front page of cricket chat.

Err - this is the first one we've had for any number of weeks. And they're really not totally pointless, mostly they're pretty interesting.

I don't really know enough about either of these players to have an opinion here however.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Asif Iqbal was great to watch. He was part of a curious time for the Pakistan batting line-up. You had Sadiq Mohammad, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Mushtaq Mohammad, Asif Iqbal and Wasim Raja, all great players in one team at the same time and all fall just short of true greatness (although Zaheer Abbas could be debated).

 

[Zinzan]

Amarnath was one of the first batsmen I ever watched, back in the 1983 WC when I was knee-high to a grasshopper. I vaguely remember him playing a couple of superb hook shots against the West Indies and generally being a stylish batsman to watch. Don't remember much about Asif.

 

[NUFAN]

Amarnath had the better record.

He also managed to get 8 highest scores in his career compared with Iqbal's 5.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Amarnath had the better record.

He also managed to get 8 highest scores in his career compared with Iqbal's 5.

I'd hate to be judged by you if the first and highest of my 30 Test Centuries was a triple in my first innings.

 

[NUFAN]

I'd hate to be judged by you if the first and highest of my 30 Test Centuries was a triple in my first innings.

Yeah..

 

[Zinzan]

Amarnath had the better record.

He also managed to get 8 highest scores in his career compared with Iqbal's 5.

I'm pretty sure I managed 9 in my indoor cricket career, which places me slighly above Amarnath

 

[Anil]

Asif Iqbal has to be one of the most under rated cricketers of Pakistan. He could hold his own in ANY company. A man for all seasons and all formats.

He could do anything, bat, bowl, field anywhere, organise tournaments, fix matches, deal with bookies .... anything. A true all rounder.

Seriously, but for his shenanigans in Sharjah, a truly under-rated giant from Pakistan.

i wasn't underrating him, but would you consider him a more accomplished batsman than amarnath?

 

[SJS]

i wasn't underrating him, but would you consider him a more accomplished batsman than amarnath?

Did I refer to you or your post ? Why do people read what was neither said nor meant ?

Mohinder finally became a really top class Test batsman - better than Asif in that format. But Asif was a better suited for one day cricket and was a far better bowler and much better fielder.

 

[Bouncer]

i wasn't underrating him, but would you consider him a more accomplished batsman than amarnath?

I didnt vote in this poll coz i wanted to see what others think of both player.


Amarnath: ( 1969 --1987-88)
=======
Matches: 69
Runs = 4378
AVR = 42.50
100's =11

Asif ( 1964 -- 1979-80)
====
Matches = 58
Runs = 3575
AVR = 38.85
100 = 11


Just by looking at it there is not much difference between two. But when u take out that one magical year which got mohinder a reputation as best indian player of fast bowling (according to Imran)in which he scored 1182 runs with 5 100's then you r left with same number games as asif iqbal but less runs ( about 3200) with 6 100's in his career.

asif however did not have one great year but he was overall more consistent, better performer against everyone. his first 100 came batting at number 9 scoring 146 out of 255 scores in 1967. Mohinder scored his first 100 in 1977...but he was not played for most part of early 10 years of his career (SJS, since u probably know more about what was the issue behind his exclusion in those days...any explanation will be appreciated!)...and then after that as far mohinder's tag of good player of fast bowling is concern, asif can probably match him (not with number of runs scored in mohinder's purple patch but with his quality of innings played against AUS in 1976-77 ( 152 in Adelaid, 120 in Sydney against Lillee and Thompson at their absolute peak) and in WI in next trip ( 135 against Roberts, Craft, garner)...any of these innings can be compared to Mohinder's 100's in that one year.

Compared with mohinder, asif scored runs almost throughout his career and often when his team really needed him and that his why he was first Pakistani player to be labelled as main of crisis. i think asif is hugely underrated, consistency wise and with quality of runs scored, i would ranke Asif better batsman than Mohinder.

I remember Asif looking like he was going to win the 1971 Gilette Cup for Kent on his own - Lancashire couldn't set a field for him and he was unlucky to be dismissed by a stunning catch by Jack Bond at point - the harbinger of Collingwood, Rhodes etc

that was actually the first asif iqbal inning that i saw, in 1995 i got hold of an old BBC program taped on VHS in which Richie Benaud went over some of the Gillete Cup Finals played at LORDS. asif batted majectically in that game and was caught at fielder between extra covers and mid off who dived full lenght to his left to get hold of catch...it was atruely amazing inning.

there is another story about asif iqbal, who actually is from hadrabad india and stayed in india even when his family left for pak in 1947, to Finsih his college degree from usmania university in Hyderabad. Sunil Gavaskar once asked asif if he is given an oppertunity to play for india, would he take it and asif replied saying that he would prefer to play for pak instead.

 

[Anil]

Did I refer to you or your post ? Why do people read what was neither said nor meant ?

Mohinder finally became a really top class Test batsman - better than Asif in that format. But Asif was a better suited for one day cricket and was a far better bowler and much better fielder.

your post came immediately after a couple of responses rating amarnath ahead(one of which was mine) and so i assumed they had something to do with the content of your post, in any case it was a simple question because i value your opinion, not sure why you are getting upset..., anyway i understand that asif was definitely a better one day player and i was just referring to their test batsmanship...

 

[ret]

I didnt vote in this poll coz i wanted to see what others think of both player.


Amarnath: ( 1969 --1987-88)
=======
Matches: 69
Runs = 4378
AVR = 42.50
100's =11

Asif ( 1964 -- 1979-80)
====
Matches = 58
Runs = 3575
AVR = 38.85
100 = 11


Just by looking at it there is not much difference between two. But when u take out that one magical year which got mohinder a reputation as best indian player of fast bowling (according to Imran)in which he scored 1182 runs with 5 100's then you r left with same number games as asif iqbal but less runs ( about 3200) with 6 100's in his career.

asif however did not have one great year but he was overall more consistent, better performer against everyone. his first 100 came batting at number 9 scoring 146 out of 255 scores in 1967. Mohinder scored his first 100 in 1977...but he was not played for most part of early 10 years of his career (SJS, since u probably know more about what was the issue behind his exclusion in those days...any explanation will be appreciated!)...and then after that as far mohinder's tag of good player of fast bowling is concern, asif can probably match him (not with number of runs scored in mohinder's purple patch but with his quality of innings played against AUS in 1976-77 ( 152 in Adelaid, 120 in Sydney against Lillee and Thompson at their absolute peak) and in WI in next trip ( 135 against Roberts, Craft, garner)...any of these innings can be compared to Mohinder's 100's in that one year.

Compared with mohinder, asif scored runs almost throughout his career and often when his team really needed him and that his why he was first Pakistani player to be labelled as main of crisis. i think asif is hugely underrated, consistency wise and with quality of runs scored, i would ranke Asif better batsman than Mohinder.



that was actually the first asif iqbal inning that i saw, in 1995 i got hold of an old BBC program taped on VHS in which Richie Benaud went over some of the Gillete Cup Finals played at LORDS. asif batted majectically in that game and was caught at fielder between extra covers and mid off who dived full lenght to his left to get hold of catch...it was atruely amazing inning.

there is another story about asif iqbal, who actually is from hadrabad india and stayed in india even when his family left for pak in 1947, to Finsih his college degree from usmania university in Hyderabad. Sunil Gavaskar once asked asif if he is given an oppertunity to play for india, would he take it and asif replied saying that he would prefer to play for pak instead.

the stats are contrary to what you said!!!!

Asif Iqbal, ['64-'80] has averaged 40 or more in '67, '71, '73, '76, '79
Mohinder ['76-88] has averaged 50 or more in '77, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86 .... thats 5 years in a row!!!! .... on top of that he averages 50+ in Aus, Pak, Wi and SL in 30 tests!!!!

and again you are wrong when you say that Amarnath has had only one good season

77/78 .... he averaged 49.4 [5 tests]
78/79 ..... 40 [5 tests]
82/83 .... 69.5 [11 test]
84/85 .... 64.5 [7 tests]
85 .... 72 [2 tests]
85-86 .... 74.3 [3 tests]
86 .... 43 [2 tests]

 

[SJS]

your post came immediately after a couple of responses rating amarnath ahead(one of which was mine) and so i assumed they had something to do with the content of your post, in any case it was a simple question because i value your opinion, not sure why you are getting upset..., anyway i understand that asif was definitely a better one day player and i was just referring to their test batsmanship...

No I wasn't upset Anil but I can see (on reading again) that my post may have sounded like that. Sorry about that.

I have seen Mohinder from close since he was a contemporary at college and University. The transformation in his batting and his continuous evolvement almost throughout his long career was amazing.

His half brother Surinder was by far rhe more gifted of the two. As an old timer said when he saw Surinder's precocious talent as a schoolboy, "look at him, he has cricket in his blood". Mohinder's cricket came from sweat and blood. He really worked at his game and kept improving to finally become one of the finest batsmen in the world.

He had fabuloust self control and powers of concentration. He cut out the frills and low percentage shots and started driving more and more in the "V" between extra covers and mid on. He would pull and cut only if the delivery was asking to be cut and pulled and played everything else with the straightest of bats. Of all the batsmen I have seen from India, he was the one who seemed most comfortable in crisis situation. The bigger the obstacle facing the side, the more Mohinder seemed capable of cutting himself of from anything and everything except the task at hand. I would say, except for Steve Waugh, I cant immediately think of anyone, who actually seemed to prefer pressure to mundane and pressure-less situations.

And, of course, unlike Surinder, who was more than suspect against really quick stuff, Mohinder was a fearless player of fast bowling. I think Lala, who was himself a most magnificent and fearless player of fast bowling must have been thrilled to see Mohinder's amazing treatment of Pakistan's and West Indies fast bowlers - something in which his first born had no doubt disappointed him so.