I'd totally agree with this, but that wasn't the point that was being made - Sri Lanka were Test cricket's "minnows" of the time and it was said that Imran avoided the minnows. I didn't think he did, becuase he played quite a bit against the weakest team of the era.
Could you give some examples? I'm not disbelieving you, but I'd be keen to see when it happened.
It's a moot point whether the weakest team of any era should automatically be called minnows. But anyway when I first said that it was just to point it out rather than wanting to get bogged down with which stats should be removed to prove whatever point was trying to be made.
Yeah fair enough, I suppose there are differing levels of "minnow" - I consider the SL team of the early-mid 80s to have been minnows but still deserving of Test status, as opposed to current Bangladesh who to my mind aren't worthy of the title at all.
New Zealand at home. Missed the series (circa 1990) where Chris Pringle went ball tampering loopy. Imran said his presence would only make the mismatch between the two sides even more apparent.
Thanks, hadn't heard that story before. Not sure how much difference the Imran of 1990 would necessarily have made (as opposed to the Imran of say 1982), but it's good to know regardless.
well he was not fit to play. it was not because he didnt choose to play against a weak team. as much a hero as he was to our generation, i cant take it that he is made into this super human hero who didnt want to fight with weaker opponents whereas in reality his actual USP was in performing super human deeds despite being very human, with a bad back and all that.
yes. that is also true.
He did it mostly against Sri Lanka and sometimes against NZ as well(NZ in 80s were not exactly minnows but not world class either).
How often did he do it against Sri Lanka? He seemed to play them quite a lot.
not true bhupinder
[B]Series Matches Imran In[/B]
1981-1982 3 1
1985-1986 3 3
1985-1986 3 3
1991-1992 3 3Thats okay. As far as i am concerned he (and his posts) are perpetually in hiding
Thats probaly the only claim for which I couldn't present any substantial proofs.Other than this one,whenever I Maid a claim,I presented the proof.I said it on the basis that there were significant number of tests in 1980s in which Miandad captained the side while Imran rested,don't remember against which teams exactly but thought it would've been Sri Lanka or some other depled sides.But if thats not the case,I apologise.