Can Pathan be as good as Wasim?

[Armadillo]

I think he definately can be, he certainly can swing the ball

 

[nehrafan]

I think he can even be better than Akram.

Pathan is proving to be class bowler at a young age of just 19!! Imagine what he will be when he will be around 21-23!!

Waseem wasn't much of a batsman when he started his cricket, Pathan in contrast has shown ability with bat.Also Waseem never took his batting seriously, he wasn't a tryue allrounder, Pathan in contrast can establish himself as a genuine allrounder.

Pathan might not have the pace of Akram, but he can swing the ball beautifully.This guy has the potential to become the top bowler of the world in a year or two.

 

[Armadillo]

john wright said that Pathan had the quality to bat at six for india, and i believe him

 

[warrioryohannan]

john wright said that Pathan had the quality to bat at six for india, and i believe him

Not yet, Wright is way out of mark. In test matches i wouldn't think of Pathan going out to bat at number 6, i think he should bat higher than number 8.

 

[ajaagarkarajaaja]

Pathan is a wonderful find for India and certainly the best upcomming pacer in the world right now.However it will be interesting to see as to whether Pathan will be able to cement his place in Indian test team.India has an embaressment of riches as far as pacers are concerned, and considering India usually goes with 2 pacers and 2 spinners (when Harb is fit) , one has to be among the best in the world to get into the playing 11.

Khan,Ajit Agarkar,Nehra,Salvi, Balaji and Pathan... Too difficult to choose 2 for playing 11. Though i would settle for Pathan and Ajit.

 

[Ford_GTHO351]

Pathan is a good young bowler.

But like all new young & up-coming players, you have to wait a few years before you can accurately tell whether he will be a very good player or to compare him with greats like Wasim Akram.

 

[Salamuddin]

Pathan is a good young bowler.

But like all new young & up-coming players, you have to wait a few years before you can accurately tell whether he will be a very good player or to compare him with greats like Wasim Akram.

Precisely.

 

[marc71178]

Pathan is a wonderful find for India and certainly the best upcomming pacer in the world right now.

You what?

Based on what is he "certainly the best"?

India has an embaressment of riches as far as pacers are concerned,

I'd say actually it's more just an embarassment as far as pace bowlers are concerned...

one has to be among the best in the world to get into the playing 11.

Do you honestly believe that?

I wonder how many of these would make other Test sides?

Khan,Ajit Agarkar,Nehra,Salvi, Balaji and Pathan... Too difficult to choose 2 for playing 11.

At last we agree on something, although I think it's for difference reasons - lesser of evils is mine.

 

[Mecnun]

Pathan is a good young bowler.

But like all new young & up-coming players, you have to wait a few years before you can accurately tell whether he will be a very good player or to compare him with greats like Wasim Akram.

Agreed! It is too early for comparisons yet. My gut feeling though is that Irfan will become a good bowler as opposed to a truly unique 'great' (and I use the word great with some trepidation) like Akram.

rgrds

 

[Neil Pickup]

Doesn't this bring back the memories? :rolleyes:

 

[masterblaster]

I rate Irfan Pathan very, very highly.

But nobody can be as good as Wasim Akram

 

[Tom Halsey]

You what?

Based on what is he "certainly the best"?




I'd say actually it's more just an embarassment as far as pace bowlers are concerned...




Do you honestly believe that?

I wonder how many of these would make other Test sides?




At last we agree on something, although I think it's for difference reasons - lesser of evils is mine.

LOL.

I don't know, but I reckon ajaagarkarajaaja may well be more biased than amits. Where does he get his ideas from?

 

[Tim]

the difference will be that Akram bowled reverse swing at 145-150 km's..Pathan only bowls at around 130 kms.

 

[iamdavid]

Well I can certainly see the merit in comparisons with Wasim Akram at the same age , but come on people he's 19 years old & he's only been on the scene for 4 months.
Saying "I think he can be better than Wasim" is just a tab naive.
Wasim was a very , very special bowler , bowlers like him dont come around very often.

As for Pathan , well I must admit I think he's got the raw talent to do anything , at 19 years old he has the ability to swing the new ball into the right handers (drawing comparisons with Wasims inswinger) & reverse swing the new ball away from them , the yorker which he bowled to Gilchrist in Sydney was IMO the ball of the series.
Now not many 19 year olds just burst onto the scene with that sort of ability.
As for his pace I think people are forgetting he's still a teenager , during the VB series he averaged about 134kph & occasionally hit 140 , now I assure you thats every bit as quick as Lee , Wasim , Shoaib , etc were at the same age.
He will mature & gain a little more bulk over the next few years , Id expect him to hit his peak in terms of pace at around 25 which is 6 years time.

As for his batting , again he clearly shows alot of ability & a very convincing technique for a 19 year old tailender.
But his shot-selection is still not quite up to it , Id have to agree with John Wright that he's got the ability to bat in the lower middle order for India at some stage in the future.
Obviously he's no better than a number 8 now but he will develop with time.

Really the key factors will be how he manages to stay fit , how willing he is to learn & his work ethic.

If he stays fit & works for it then yeah I reckon he could do anything , however if he fails he will go down as another of those youngsters who burst onto the scene touted as the next big thing only to disappear before we'd even taken in their presence in the first place.

Marc , as for him being the best up & coming paceman in the world ATM , I wouldnt nessecarily disagree with that , he isnt 'certainly' number 1 , But can you name a better fast bowler under say 22 years of age?

Anderson & Tait would seem his only serious competition to me.

 

[Tim]

I can't see how you can bring Shaun Tait into the equation yet when he hasn't even played international cricket.

 

[iamdavid]

I can't see how you can bring Shaun Tait into the equation yet when he hasn't even played international cricket.

Dosent detract frim his ability , besides who was I meant to suggest........Mahwire

 

[age_master]

Pathan is good, and will ge t better no doubt, but i dont think he will ever as good as akram was.

 

[thierry henry]

Originally posted by ajaagarkarajaaja
India has an embaressment of riches as far as pacers are concerned,




I'd say actually it's more just an embarassment as far as pace bowlers are concerned...

HAHAHAHA marc, I agree entirely.

 

[Top_Cat]

As for Pathan , well I must admit I think he's got the raw talent to do anything , at 19 years old he has the ability to swing the new ball into the right handers (drawing comparisons with Wasims inswinger)

Futile comparisons because when Wasim was at his peak, he did more than merely 'swing the ball into the right-handers'; he was lethal and seemed to bend it at right-angles sometimes. Pathan can swing the ball but nowhere near as much or as consistently as Wasim was able to do even from early on.

Cases in point; Wasim's two deliveries in a row to dismiss Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis in the 1992 World Cup final. I've got a few more on DVD and video tape which swung later and more than anything I've seen from Pathan so far.

Wasim had FAR greater wraps on him from the same age (he played his first Test at about 18-19). Everyone is touting Pathan as potentially a very good bowler and a handy bat; Wasim at the same time (around 1988) was touted as a certainty to be a great. No-one had any doubt it seemed and it always seemed a formality that he would be the greatest left-armer the world had ever seen (up there with the very best PERIOD).

As for his pace I think people are forgetting he's still a teenager , during the VB series he averaged about 134kph & occasionally hit 140 , now I assure you thats every bit as quick as Lee , Wasim , Shoaib , etc were at the same age.

Lee was clocked at 149km/h at 18 with an average of 143km/h; Wasim was super-fast in his early days and I believe Shoaib bowled mid-140's consistently at 18. Shaun Tait was even clocked at 144km/h at 17 (I was there for that one). Pathan will surely gain some pace but not much in the enusing years (assuming he doesn't go the way of Srinath and get bowled into the ground before he's 25). The pace that Pathan is averaging is impressive but he's still well short of being express pace and I would wager will continue to do so no matter how much he 'bulks up'.

As for his batting , again he clearly shows alot of ability & a very convincing technique for a 19 year old tailender.
But his shot-selection is still not quite up to it , Id have to agree with John Wright that he's got the ability to bat in the lower middle order for India at some stage in the future.
Obviously he's no better than a number 8 now but he will develop with time.

I'd say his batting is around the number 8 mark at best at Test level and India would do well not to turn him into an allrounder he doesn't appear to have the ability to be. He's flat-out staying in the Indian side as a bowler right now, much less an allrounder. Anything which detracts from his bowling right now is too high a price to pay. I'd say that he's on par with Brett Lee for batting ability (impressive but good for 'handy runs' rather than 'essential' runs). Anything higher than number 8 in Tests is fraught with danger for India.

 

[Craig]

Pathan is an obviously talented bowler who can move it both ways. I think India should adpot a bowling restrication plan like thay have in Australia where bowlers bowl 'x' amount of overs per day relevant in their age groups. This IMO can help prevent him from ever getting stress fracture injuries in the back.

ATM Pathan is nothing more then medium fast IMO, but whether he will get quicker remains to be seen.