Waqar Younis vs Ishant Sharma: Not as Strange a Comparison as It Looks

[Adamant]

17 hours ago, singhvivek141 said:

He was just 29 then ? How did thats past its peak? 

In 2002, he was trundling at 128-131 kph. 

Yeah, because his back was gone.

[Lord]

17 hours ago, singhvivek141 said:

He was just 29 then ? How did thats past its peak? 

In 2002, he was trundling at 128-131 kph. 

He slowed down after his injury.

 

Retired in 2003 so was finished in 2002. Kinda like Shami now

[singhvivek141]

1 hour ago, Adamant said:

Yeah, because his back was gone.

 

1 hour ago, Lord said:

He slowed down after his injury.

 

Retired in 2003 so was finished in 2002. Kinda like Shami now

 

But he clocked 142.6 as his fastest in 2003 WC.

It wasnt his back, it was the drugs/steroids which Pak is infamous to take at an excuse of cough syrup.

Drugs culture is anyway pretty common in Pak..Asif, Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed, Md Nawaz, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan....so many of them were caught. Won't be surprised that so called "Viki bhai" wouldn't have done that.

[Rightarmfast]

5 hours ago, Adamant said:

Waqar bowled 145-155 regularly in his early days, Ishant bowled a dozen balls above 148. there is absolutely no comparison.

 

 

Waqar would have definitely bowled 145+. Whether he touched 155 consistently, that can't be ascertained. However, I also feel Ishant was not as quick as Waqar consistently. Although, Waqar was quick only between 1989-1992/93. That's a pretty short graph for being quick. In comparison, Ishant maintained his top pace for much longer. 

[Rightarmfast]

5 hours ago, Lord said:

He slowed down after his injury.

 

Retired in 2003 so was finished in 2002. Kinda like Shami now

But Shami still clocks 146/147 at times.

[express bowling]

5 hours ago, Adamant said:

Waqar bowled 145-155 regularly in his early days, Ishant bowled a dozen balls above 148. there is absolutely no comparison.

 

 

There were speed guns in many matches in Sharjah in the early 1990s.

 

Waqar never crossed even 150 kph in those games. And those were ODIs. 

 

His fastest recorded ball is 153.5 kph. 

 

Thing is, even 137 k to 147 k / 148 k regular speeds, in the 1989 to 1993 period, is still very impressive and quick for a pacer as skiddy as Waqar. 

[putrevus]

Why am I not surprised seeing some replies.When Shami or Indian seamers get reverse swing, it is due to talent but Waqar or Pakistanis got reverse swing only due to ball tampering.

 

For some geniuses here Prassidh is a fast bowler but  Waqar was a trundler.Oh I forgot Srinath was express and all others were trundlers.

Edited August 18 by putrevus

[maniac]

8 hours ago, express bowling said:

 

There were speed guns in many matches in Sharjah in the early 1990s.

 

Waqar never crossed even 150 kph in those games. And those were ODIs. 

 

His fastest recorded ball is 153.5 kph. 

 

Thing is, even 137 k to 147 k / 148 k regular speeds, in the 1989 to 1993 period, is still very impressive and quick for a pacer as skiddy as Waqar. 

there were no proper speed guns in those days. A reverse swing Yorker with a damaged ball seems lethal even when a trundler is delivering it. 
 

I have never seen Akram cross 145. Max I have seen him bowl at 140 since there were proper speed guns in the modern era. Obviously his skills made him look lethal. Same with Walsh and Ambrose who were 130 clicks bowlers with ability to breach 140.

 

now coming to Waqar, ever since I saw him in the modern era, while no doubt on his skills, I have even seen him trundle at 125 clicks in Australia of all places, 

 

skills wise no brainer Waqar is ahead but Ishant is a workhorse. While there is no comparison, apart from a dark phase from 2011-2014, Ishant was always a 140+ bowler with bounce and seam, too bad he played in the era of T20 and 400+ odi pitches where his bowling may not have been suited but still has a decent odi record. 
 

Shami is a good comparison output wise even though I put him ahead of Waqar.

 

even though Waqar is ahead, Umesh was 10 clicks faster than Waqar career average wise. 

[Rightarmfast]

9 minutes ago, maniac said:

there were no proper speed guns in those days. A reverse swing Yorker with a damaged ball seems lethal even when a trundler is delivering it. 
 

I have never seen Akram cross 145. Max I have seen him bowl at 140 since there were proper speed guns in the modern era. Obviously his skills made him look lethal. Same with Walsh and Ambrose who were 130 clicks bowlers with ability to breach 140.

 

now coming to Waqar, ever since I saw him in the modern era, while no doubt on his skills, I have even seen him trundle at 125 clicks in Australia of all places, 

 

skills wise no brainer Waqar is ahead but Ishant is a workhorse. While there is no comparison, apart from a dark phase from 2011-2014, Ishant was always a 140+ bowler with bounce and seam, too bad he played in the era of T20 and 400+ odi pitches where his bowling may not have been suited but still has a decent odi record. 
 

Shami is a good comparison output wise even though I put him ahead of Waqar.

 

even though Waqar is ahead, Umesh was 10 clicks faster than Waqar career average wise. 

You're my type of guy 

[Rightarmfast]

1 hour ago, putrevus said:

Why am I not surprised seeing some replies.When Shami or Indian seamers get reverse swing, it is due to talent but Waqar or Pakistanis got reverse swing only due to ball tampering.

 

For some geniuses here Prassidh is a fast bowler but  Waqar was a trundler.Oh I forgot Srinath was express and all others were trundlers.

Haa yaar.. Shami to 1000% tamper karta tha. maine suna wo pant ke andar doosra ball rakhta tha... poora ka poora tampered. Prasidh bhi jab bowling karta hai to, ravi shastri speed gun ko 10kph aage kar deta hai! what to say bro

[singhvivek141]

1 hour ago, putrevus said:

Why am I not surprised seeing some replies.When Shami or Indian seamers get reverse swing, it is due to talent but Waqar or Pakistanis got reverse swing only due to ball tampering.

 

For some geniuses here Prassidh is a fast bowler but  Waqar was a trundler.Oh I forgot Srinath was express and all others were trundlers.

 

A convicted criminal will always be first to get called by the police if any crime happens.

 

https://www.cricinfo.com/story/waqar-first-to-be-fined-for-ball-tampering-88784

 

https://scroll.in/field/873457/watch-former-pakistan-skipper-imran-khan-speaking-on-ball-tampering-on-a-tv-show-in-1994

 

 

[putrevus]

1 hour ago, singhvivek141 said:

 

A convicted criminal will always be first to get called by the police if any crime happens.

 

https://www.cricinfo.com/story/waqar-first-to-be-fined-for-ball-tampering-88784

 

https://scroll.in/field/873457/watch-former-pakistan-skipper-imran-khan-speaking-on-ball-tampering-on-a-tv-show-in-1994

 

 

No one denies they  have done ball tampering but it does not mean they were not great bowlers.

 

373 wickets or 400 in case of Wasim don’t come by just ball tampering.

 

I hate Pakistani team but you cannot take away their greatness.

 

All three are ATG fast bowlers and Wasim might be one of the top five ever to have played this game.

Edited August 18 by putrevus

[AKane]

On 8/16/2026 at 6:17 AM, express bowling said:

Pakistan hasn't really had any test pacer of Ishant's bowling style and height. Shaheen is similar height but left armer. 

Pak had Sarfraz Nawaz in 1970's who was 6'6" tall and a workhorse. For his speed the Pak pitches were worse than Indian pitches for Kapil. Sarfraz also lost a couple of peak years to WSC and had slowed down a lot by 1980.

 

Sarfraz had some great spells like the 7/1 in 1979 where he reduced Aus from 300 odd for 3 to 310 all out and won Pak the match by 60 or 70 runs.

 

He was the original reverse swing  artist who passed on the knowledge to Imran and Wasim. They later added the bottle cap to it.

[putrevus]

2 hours ago, Rightarmfast said:

Haa yaar.. Shami to 1000% tamper karta tha. maine suna wo pant ke andar doosra ball rakhta tha... poora ka poora tampered. Prasidh bhi jab bowling karta hai to, ravi shastri speed gun ko 10kph aage kar deta hai! what to say bro

What is funny is for some geniuses  Waqar is useless trundler who only took wickets due  to ball tempering. That is  hilarious.

[singhvivek141]

44 minutes ago, putrevus said:

No one denies they  have done ball tampering but it does not mean they were not great bowlers.

 

373 wickets or 400 in case of Wasim don’t come by just ball tampering.

 

I hate Pakistani team but you cannot take away their greatness.

 

All three are ATG fast bowlers and Wasim might be one of the top five ever to have played this game.

Wasim is an ATG.I agree with you there.

I have seen Wasim closely and there was definitely some skill behind his deliveries. But not denying he would have benefitted as well. Although he would have avg below 25 even if no ball tempering.

 

Waqar is an Pakistani Great. The difference between two halves ? is extremely questionable to debate for an ATF. Plus his poor performance in Australia is too big to be ignored (I am ignoring his performance in India). An ATG cant avg so bad in a country like Australia, which arguably offers something for everyone across its pitches.

 

Edited August 18 by singhvivek141

[putrevus]

2 hours ago, singhvivek141 said:

Wasim is an ATG.I agree with you there.

I have seen Wasim closely and there was definitely some skill behind his deliveries. But not denying he would have benefitted as well. Although he would have avg below 25 even if no ball tempering.

 

Waqar is an Pakistani Great. The difference between two halves ? is extremely questionable to debate for an ATF. Plus his poor performance in Australia is too big to be ignored (I am ignoring his performance in India). An ATG cant avg so bad in a country like Australia, which arguably offers something for everyone across its pitches.

 

I disagree, no matter how much we want to put them down those three are ATG fast bowlers and that is why they are in hall of fame.

 

 373 wickets at 23.56 is better than Dennis Lillee's 23.92.Lillee had zero wickets in Asia , he still is one the best fast bowlers in eyes of many great ex players..

 

It is like saying Ashwin is not a great spinner as he had not much success in SENA.

Edited August 18 by putrevus

[maniac]

Umesh, Ishant and even Nehra,  Agarkar and Srinath used to clock 140 + in their final phase  Waqar’s legendary phaaasht boiling “prime” is limited to when there was barely any telecast or proper speed guns.

People go by too much “inswining reverse wing Yorker” crashing into stump videos on YouTube.  
 

Yes no doubts about his skills, excellent  bowler and 2nd tier ATG for sure, however I only remember properly watching his bowling from Ajay Jadeja trashing and Jayasuriya trashing him regularly like he would do to our Prasad, Mohanty etc . That was it for me lol.  He was dropped for Akthar but when he came back he was a very good skillful bowler who can swing and seam at will but a medium pacer at best. 
 

Dont beleive on Doordarshan before satellite  tv came to India, they  telecasted Pakistani matches not involving India so no way anyone watched Waqar’s prime, he wasn’t there in 1992 World Cup. Since then on when cricket broadcast kicked on in India , from what I saw he was a very good bowler but not a speed demon by any means and later a bonafide trundler with skills.thats about it.

Edited August 18 by maniac

[vvvslaxman]

  S & W sharma under MSD. short and wide

[maniac]

*

Edited August 18 by maniac

[maniac]

9 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

  S & W sharma under MSD. short and wide