Where does Inzamam rank among Asia's batting greats?

[smash84]

I actually think Jaywardene was/is better than Inzamam. So there you go.

For some reason I have never been able to rate Jayawardena very highly

I will rate Sanga and De Silva definitely above Jayawardena, possibly even Ranatunga

 

[Howe_zat]

And Sangakkara above both, presumably?

 

[Black_Warrior]

For some reason I have never been able to rate Jayawardena very highly

One of the most overrated batsmen in my view

 

[smash84]

And Sangakkara above both, presumably?

both whom? De Silva and Ranatanga? Yes.

Sanga above Inzi as well I suppose.

 

[Z-Man]

Inzimam, according to Imran Khan, never did justice with his talent. He could have been a much greater batsmen probably next to Viv Richards in the sense of being 'dangerous'.

Imran is not known for over estimating nor is he biased and the people who have seen Inzimam on 'his day' would be a witness to his greatness. Had he been a bit more fitter and wittier, he would've been playing today or would have played the 2011 world cup at least.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Inzimam, according to Imran Khan, never did justice with his talent. He could have been a much greater batsmen probably next to Viv Richards in the sense of being 'dangerous'.

Imran is not known for over estimating nor is he biased and the people who have seen Inzimam on 'his day' would be a witness to his greatness. Had he been a bit more fitter and wittier, he would've been playing today or would have played the 2011 world cup at least.

+1

Poor fitness add that with lack of strong drive and ambition..and a tendency to lose focus at times.

 

[Howe_zat]

Not really getting why a player who "never did justice to his talent" deserves to be rated more highly because of that. If anything, it's a criticism.

 

[Prince EWS]

Not really getting why a player who "never did justice to his talent" deserves to be rated more highly because of that. If anything, it's a criticism.

Indeed.

You're only as good as how well you actually perform. Having the potential to perform better stops becoming relevant the minute you retire.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Not really getting why a player who "never did justice to his talent" deserves to be rated more highly because of that. If anything, it's a criticism.

Indeed.

You're only as good as how well you actually perform. Having the potential to perform better stops becoming relevant the minute you retire.

And hence he is rated below Tendulkar, Gavaskar, Lara, Ponting, Sobers, Bradman, Pollock, Waugh, Richards and a host of other greats.

However even a Inzy without doing justice to his talent and poor fitness is still better than Jayawardene.

 

[smash84]

And hence he is rated below Tendulkar, Gavaskar, Lara, Ponting, Sobers, Bradman, Pollock, Waugh, Richards and a host of other greats.

However even a Inzy without doing justice to his talent and poor fitness is still better than Jayawardene.

awta

 

[Beleg]

inzamam might not have done justice to his talent but his performance was still right up there.
the fella average 75 odd in 40+ pakistani wins. that's insane.


tendulkar's better. gavaskar. dravid. miandad is debatable.

 

[marc71178]

Nah, Dravid is ahead of Inzy comfortably for me. Personally would have a hard job selecting between Dravid and Tendulkar if I had 1 spot to fill in a Test team.

 

[Cricketismylife]

What has to be said about Inzamam is that from what I recall almost all of his runs were important. Much like Laxman he didnt pad his stats with meaningless hundreds in dead games. He rarely seemed to score uneccessary runs; his runs always seemed to add value to the game. Even the hundred he made against Bangladesh saved Pakistan from losing the test. Another example is that on his last tour to South Africa, he again didnt perform well overall, but the one time he did make a score, a 92 if I remember correctly it was a matchwinning innings. Inzamam had that ability to set up and change games.

So in that way he was slightly better than his average suggests, especially considering he played a lot of cricket in the 90s. When you compare him to someone like Yousuf, I would say that Inzamam was a slightly better batsman. Yousuf may have averaged 2-3 runs more, but Yousuf definitely cashed in more than Inzamam when the pressure was off and against weaker attacks.

Since I'm not a massive fan of comparing era's this is my ranking for Asian batsman since Tendulkar's debut.

1) Tendulkar
2) Dravid
3) Sangakkara (with the potential to overtake Dravid)
4) Inzamam
5) Sehwag
6) Jayawardene
7) Yousuf
8) Laxman

 

[Cricketismylife]

smalishah84 Ranatunga over Jayawardene? In tests not even close, no way is Ranatunga anywhere near Jayawardene. I'm aware Ranatunga and De Silva didnt get proper opportunities, but even with that Ranatunga showed nothing at all to suggest he is close to Jayawardene as a test batsman.

As an odi batsman Ranatunga is arguably better. Along with Mathews one of the few Sri Lankans who can actually bat well at number 6 in odis.

Also where does Samaraweera come in terms of best Asian batsman. Now got over 5000 runs at an average over 50. When does he start being compared to the likes of Laxman?

 

[Shri]

What has to be said about Inzamam is that from what I recall almost all of his runs were important. Much like Laxman he didnt pad his stats with meaningless hundreds in dead games. He rarely seemed to score uneccessary runs; his runs always seemed to add value to the game. Even the hundred he made against Bangladesh saved Pakistan from losing the test. Another example is that on his last tour to South Africa, he again didnt perform well overall, but the one time he did make a score, a 92 if I remember correctly it was a matchwinning innings. Inzamam had that ability to set up and change games.

So in that way he was slightly better than his average suggests, especially considering he played a lot of cricket in the 90s. When you compare him to someone like Yousuf, I would say that Inzamam was a slightly better batsman. Yousuf may have averaged 2-3 runs more, but Yousuf definitely cashed in more than Inzamam when the pressure was off and against weaker attacks.

Since I'm not a massive fan of comparing era's this is my ranking for Asian batsman since Tendulkar's debut.

1) Tendulkar
2) Dravid
3) Sangakkara (with the potential to overtake Dravid)
4) Inzamam
5) Sehwag
6) Jayawardene
7) Yousuf
8) Laxman

There is no such thing as an unnecessary run.

 

[Cricketismylife]

I should rephrase that. I meant Inzamam tended to score runs that count for more than someone like Yousuf . I try and combine a batsman's average with his quality of runs scored, which is based on quality of attack faced and match situation. I also think roundedness of record on all pitches is important but not as important as others here. Inzamam I feel over his career would have faced slightly better quality attacks than Yousuf, and at the same time made runs that were more valuable.
Of course I'm not taking away completely say Yousuf's 204 not out v Bangladesh, just saying that kind of innings is not worth say Inzamams 92 v SA. I don't think there is a big difference between the 2, I just think Inzamam's 49 average is worth slightly more than Yousuf's 52 average.

 

[smash84]

smalishah84 Ranatunga over Jayawardene? In tests not even close, no way is Ranatunga anywhere near Jayawardene. I'm aware Ranatunga and De Silva didnt get proper opportunities, but even with that Ranatunga showed nothing at all to suggest he is close to Jayawardene as a test batsman.

Yeah I guess wrt Ranatunga I did have his ODI exploits in mind and may have pulled down Jayawardena a little too much however (watching them bat i.e. De Silva, Jayawardena, and Sanga) De Silva and Sanga always seemed to get stuck to the crease. When they were on song they seemed invincible. Never got that feeling with Jayawardena.

 

[L Trumper]

SRT , Dravid, Gavaskar
Javed, Zaheer, Hanif
Sangakkara

Inzy is probably just below them and just above VVS, Vishy, Sehwag, Younis, Yousuf, Mahela, De Silva

 

[Flametree]

Vijay Merchant anyone? Second highest first class average of any player ever?

And given he played in an era when openers generally averaged a few runs less than middle-order players, I'm surprised Saeed Anwar's name hasn't come up in discussion.

For me :

1. Tendulkar
2. Gavaskar
3=. Dravid, Javed, Merchant
6= Inzi, Sangakkara, Sehwag (though the latter is sinking fast in my estimation)
9= Younis K, Saeed Anwar, Mo. Yousuf, Laxman, Jayawardene, Samaraweera, Hazare, Zaheer

 

[watson]

Inzy was an excellent batsmen overall but apparently has an ordinary record against quality bowlers on pitches with bounce and seam. Thus diminishing his credentials;

Ave in Australia = 30.9
Ave in England = 42.5
Ave in South Africa = 31.8

Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

It would be interesting to make a comparison with other Asian batsmen with respect to succeeding away from home and away from their comfort zone of flat dull pitches. The current India V Australia series is a case in point.

For starters, Inzy pails in comparison to truly great batsman like Sachin who can succeed anywhere (but that's hardly surprising);

Ave in Australia = 55.3
Ave in England = 54.3
Ave in South Africa = 46.4