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Which Asian all time xi is the strongest?

Which nation has the strongest all time test team?


  • Total voters
    47

Fuller Pilch

Hall of Fame Member
Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya, Dilshan, Sangakkara, De Silva, Jayawardene, Chandimal, Samaraweera, Vaas, Herath, Malinga, Muralitharan
I don't really agree with this Sri Lankan team.

I'd probably go
Attapattu, Karunaratne, Sangakkara, M Jayawardene, de Silva, Matthews, P Jayawardene, Vaas, Lakmal/Malinga (both will probably be replaced by Asitha Fernando though), Herath, Muralitharan
 

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
Pakistan all time XI better on paper

India all time XI has had better actual results in the field
With Imran as captain and with himself as an ATG bowler, his pace quartet will annihilate most of the ATG batting lineups on any surface supporting conventional or reverse swing. It is overkill.

Even on a dead pitch, he would get a fresh Shoaib on for a three to four over spell and give him full license to break bones and wickets at full pace. None of the bakwas of Inzi holding Shoaib back.
 

ma1978

International Debutant
The thing is that Pakistan's AT XI (which are mainly 80s and 90s) didn't win that much. Yes they had those great series in Windies and beat India and occasionally England, but were noentities in Aus or SA.

The India ATXI is much more contemporaries and coincided with when India has been dominant in India and quite successful outside (won series in Aus and England, drew in SA, etc.)

So the Pakistan ATXI looks great on paper but the India one has a lot more wins to their name, each as individuals.
 

ma1978

International Debutant
With Imran as captain and with himself as an ATG bowler, his pace quartet will annihilate most of the ATG batting lineups on any surface supporting conventional or reverse swing. It is overkill.

Even on a dead pitch, he would get a fresh Shoaib on for a three to four over spell and give him full license to break bones and wickets at full pace. None of the bakwas of Inzi holding Shoaib back.
But they never did. Wasim and Waqar and Shoaib for all their talent could never win in Australia, for example
 

ma1978

International Debutant
With Imran as captain and with himself as an ATG bowler, his pace quartet will annihilate most of the ATG batting lineups on any surface supporting conventional or reverse swing. It is overkill.

Even on a dead pitch, he would get a fresh Shoaib on for a three to four over spell and give him full license to break bones and wickets at full pace. None of the bakwas of Inzi holding Shoaib back.
THis is all theoretical. If they were that good (and some of them definitely played together), why didn';t they win more
 

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
But they never did. Wasim and Waqar and Shoaib for all their talent could never win in Australia, for example
Wasim and Waqar were washed up and Shoaib a hot mess when they toured in 99.

THis is all theoretical. If they were that good (and some of them definitely played together), why didn';t they win more
Pakistan from the mid 80s till end of millenium won multiple times in England, NZ, and SL. They won in India. They drew against 80s WI and 90s SA. They won the Asia Test Championship in 99. The only place they struggled relatively was Australia.

The only time though they had two pacers at worldclass level was between 90 to 95 in Wasim and Waqar.

In this scenario, we are talking four worldclass pacers under the guidance of a strong captain.
 
Last edited:

trundler

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He has a point. Wasim, waqar, shoaib and saqlain did play a bit together even if it was usually 2 or 3 of them on the field simultaneously. On paper they look OP but IIRC they lost a lot
Lots of times great players have some overlap but didn't perform well as they didn't peak at the right time. Early 90s Pakistan did very well when both Wasim and Waqar were firing. Late 90s not so much. Smith and Ponting both sucked when they played together.
 

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
My point exactly, a good team on paper, but very litlte to show for it

ALl of the Indian team has actually won consistently
Nah. India were pathetic away in the 90s yet they still had Laxman, Ganguly, Tendulkar and Dravid. Similar in the 80s when they had Kapil and Gavaskar.

It's only when they peaked respectively and you had the right captain that results came 2000s onwards.

And the point is, Pakistan did win when their stars lined up.
 

Adorable Asshole

International Regular
My point exactly, a good team on paper, but very litlte to show for it

ALl of the Indian team has actually won consistently
How? Shoaib only became Shoaib post 2000 when the Wasim and Waqar were past their best.

How could you tell they will perform worse than their potential?
 

Slifer

International Captain
Only if you account for longevity, by virtue of which Bumrah should be replaced by Srinath or Zaheer.

Asif and Shaheen may be a better new ball pair than Wasim and Waqar.
Sooo everybody is ok with these two statements.....
 

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