Who is the best limited over spinner of all time

[Gob]

Isn't Murali basically Saqlain with longevity?

 

[Migara]

Isn't Murali basically Saqlain with longevity?

Saqlain had mighty impressive figures with effectiveness. If that was the metric Khan and Mendis are even better than Saqlain.

Effectiveness and longevity together, there is a gaping gap between Murali and others.

 

[Migara]

That 96 - 98 period SL team was brutal on spinners. Saqlain also had travelled the distance few times when Jayasuriya and Aravinda were in mood. One bad performance by a bowler proves nothing.

 

[Gob]

Saqlain had mighty impressive figures with effectiveness. If that was the metric Khan and Mendis are even better than Saqlain.

Effectiveness and longevity together, there is a gaping gap between Murali and others.

I don't rate Mendis at all tbh. He over bowled the carrom ball and once batsmen figured it out, he had no answer.Theekshana looks a better bowler than Mendis already with a much better stock ball.

Assuming the Khan you mention is in the Rashid variety, can't say for sure. Amazing stats but also played a lot against weaker teams. Not his fault obviously

 

[trundler]

Isn't Murali basically Saqlain with longevity?

Nah Saqlain reached 100, 150, 200 and 250 ODI wickets faster than anyone at the time. Even guys like Bond and Donald. That's pretty crazy strike power especially considering he was a spinner. Mendis had one good year and nothing else. Rashid Khan obviously feasted heavily on minnows. Even disregarding that he's slower to 150 wickets. Only Starc has reached 150 ODI wickets more quickly, by just 1 match and that too in a much faster scoring era. If he had played for a couple more years he'd be the GOAT IMO. Saqlain's strike rate is the same as Waqar (!!!). Even if we give him a 20% longevity penalty he's still #2 by a clear mergin. As a firm believer of longevity matters, I have to hand it to Murali but Saqlain is a pretty uniquely destructive spinner and deserves loads of props. A better comparison would be a moderate upgrade on Ajmal with less chucking.

 

[Pap Finn Keighl]

Isn't Murali basically Saqlain with longevity?

No. Kallis is not Klusner with longevity.

 

[Pap Finn Keighl]

Comparing Saqlain to Murali or Warne is an insult to Saqlain. He should be compared with ATG pacers ?.

 

[Migara]

I don't rate Mendis at all tbh. He over bowled the carrom ball and once batsmen figured it out, he had no answer.Theekshana looks a better bowler than Mendis already with a much better stock ball.

Assuming the Khan you mention is in the Rashid variety, can't say for sure. Amazing stats but also played a lot against weaker teams. Not his fault obviously

It was what happened to Saqlain albeit little slowly. Once SC batsmen figured out doosra, his effectiveness dwindled. It was Kumar Dharmasena who figured it out first. Saqlain anyway was extremely accurate. A knee injury and a nack injury ended Saqlains and Mendis' careers respectively.

 

[Migara]

Nah Saqlain reached 100, 150, 200 and 250 ODI wickets faster than anyone at the time. Even guys like Bond and Donald. That's pretty crazy strike power especially considering he was a spinner. Mendis had one good year and nothing else. Rashid Khan obviously feasted heavily on minnows. Even disregarding that he's slower to 150 wickets. Only Starc has reached 150 ODI wickets more quickly, by just 1 match and that too in a much faster scoring era. If he had played for a couple more years he'd be the GOAT IMO. Saqlain's strike rate is the same as Waqar (!!!). Even if we give him a 20% longevity penalty he's still #2 by a clear mergin. As a firm believer of longevity matters, I have to hand it to Murali but Saqlain is a pretty uniquely destructive spinner and deserves loads of props. A better comparison would be a moderate upgrade on Ajmal with less chucking.

Ajantha Mendis did exactly the same, but he lasted half of Saqlain's career. He was pretty damn fast to his 50 and 100 scalpsm if not the fastest.

 

[Migara]

Comparing Saqlain to Murali or Warne is an insult to Saqlain. He should be compared with ATG pacers ?.

Nah, he didn't last as long as even an ATG pacer. Even lasted the way he was worked out, would have gone down the Mendis way.

 

[trundler]

Sorry brah. Stop trying to make Mendis v Saqlain happen, it's not going to happen. It's like Bevan Vs Kedhar Jadhav.

 

[subshakerz]

Warne got hammered for 58 runs in 10 overs when the usual RPO was 4.5 at the time. **** happens.

Sure but Warne redeemed himself the next WC final.

 

[subshakerz]

Nah, he didn't last as long as even an ATG pacer. Even lasted the way he was worked out, would have gone down the Mendis way.

Saqlain's sample size is big enough IMO.

 

[Migara]

Sure but Warne redeemed himself the next WC final.

Yeah, yeah, we know how the things got masked pretty easily.

 

[Migara]

Sorry brah. Stop trying to make Mendis v Saqlain happen, it's not going to happen. It's like Bevan Vs Kedhar Jadhav.

If you can compare Saqlain to Murali who has about half Murali's career, you could do the same for Mendis who has 50% of teh career compared to Saqlain. Do you actually realize that Mendis averages 21.9 with a SR of 27.3 compared to Saqlain 21.8 @ 30.4?

 

[trundler]

Except I'm saying Murali is #1 but Saqlain peaked much higher and was a god for an extended period of time. Mendis had one good year. He averaged 28 after the novelty wore off. Meanwhile Saqlain has both of the top 2 most prolific years in ODI history. He wasn't some meme bowler that got found out after 10 games. He literally changed off spin forever. May as well go ahead and argue for Voges over Smith. Surely you maxed out your baffling logic quota for the year with Vaas > Waqar. Go plug Srinath or something.

 

[TheJediBrah]

It was what happened to Saqlain albeit little slowly. Once SC batsmen figured out doosra, his effectiveness dwindled. It was Kumar Dharmasena who figured it out first. Saqlain anyway was extremely accurate. A knee injury and a nack injury ended Saqlains and Mendis' careers respectively.

Is there anything that a Sri Lankan didn't do first?

 

[Migara]

Is there anything that a Sri Lankan didn't do first?

It may haunt you, but he picked it, played it, showed the way it was bowled, and then decided he cannot bowl it without chucking as well (Dharmasena's usual deliveries were dodgy too). That was the reason Murali has to master his own version for next 3 - 4 years. There is no co incidence that Jayasuriya and Aravinda were the first batsmen to tore in to Saqlain on frequent basis in late 90s.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

I'm glad that there's no talk of Sunil Narine in this thread because he chucks it like crazy...and teams still pick him in their league/s.

 

[Migara]

Except I'm saying Murali is #1 but Saqlain peaked much higher and was a god for an extended period of time. Mendis had one good year. He averaged 28 after the novelty wore off. Meanwhile Saqlain has both of the top 2 most prolific years in ODI history. He wasn't some meme bowler that got found out after 10 games. He literally changed off spin forever. May as well go ahead and argue for Voges over Smith. Surely you maxed out your baffling logic quota for the year with Vaas > Waqar. Go plug Srinath or something.

Mystery bowlers peak much higher than orthodox spinners. Saqlain and Mendis are examples. And bigger the mystery, faster they wear off. Bowlers who had not much of mystery like Murali, Kumble and Warne hardly worn off, rapidly like Mendis or less rapidly like Saqlain.

Saqlain was a very good bowler, infact I rate him as #2 ODI spinner. However that comes with both his intensity of performance and longevity.