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

[singhvivek141]

22 hours ago, Adamant said:

Nehra, Umesh bowled 140, bla bla, to ham kya kare, 150 bhi daal lo Waqar ke shoelace ke barabar hi rahenge.

Strip the bottle caps and Waqar will avg like Ishant.

Give Umesh the bottle caps and he will average in low 20s as well. 

 

Nehra didnt play Tests much, and he had an okaish career. But Umesh was an absolute beast with the old ball and reverse in subcontinent. And that too without ball tempering.

 

Umesh is comparable to Waqar, considering the use of illegal means by the latter. Both are comfortably behind Shami. 

 

If anyone has any doubt, then I will call it for them

Bumrah > Wasim > Shami > Umesh = Waqar > Ishant > Nehra.

[Rightarmfast]

On 8/18/2026 at 11:36 PM, maniac said:

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.

That's a good point. This happened in 1996. Waqar made his debut in 1989. So, within 6-7 yrs of his career, he was bowling at a pace which was easy for someone like Jadeja to make mincemeat of him. And Jadeja was by no means a world beater. 

Compare that to someone like Bumrah or Umesh or Shami. They maintained the pace for a much longer period. Not to forget, they never got the chance to tamper the ball. 

 

so, the point I am making is, Waqar bowled his quickest for the 1st 2-3 yrs of his career and that was it. Even Srinath clocked 149 in 99, when he was already down with injury and had lost his pace. But Waqar couldnt do that!

[zen]

In a hypothetical Asian Test 11, below would likely be the bowlers: 

 

Bumrah

Wasim (also seen as a mini AR or useful lower order batsman)

Imran (pace bowling AR too, mostly likely would be the captain as well)

Murali 

Mankad or Jadeja (spin bowling AR too) 

 

Pace bowlers in reserve or for bowler rotation or if a 4th pacer is needed: Waqar (the peak version), Srinath (the peak version from around 1996 to 2001), Shami, etc.

 

Spinners in reserve or for bowler rotation or if a third spinner is needed: Chandra, Kumble, etc. 

Edited August 20 by zen

[express bowling]

55 minutes ago, zen said:

In a hypothetical Asian Test 11, below would likely be the bowlers: 

 

Bumrah

Wasim (also seen as a mini AR or useful lower order batsman)

Imran (pace bowling AR too, mostly likely would be the captain as well)

Murali 

Mankad or Jadeja (spin bowling AR too) 

 

Pace bowlers in reserve or for bowler rotation or if a 4th pacer is needed: Waqar (the peak version), Srinath (the peak version from around 1996 to 2001), Shami, etc.

 

Spinners in reserve or for bowler rotation or if a third spinner is needed: Chandra, Kumble, etc. 

 

 

My All Time Asian Test 11 ....

 

Tests Outside Asia ..

 

1. Gavaskar

2. Sehwag

3. Dravid

4. Tendulkar 

5. Sangakkara ( wk ) 

6. Miandad 

7. Imran

8. Wasim

9. Shoaib

10. Bumrah 

11. Muralidharan 

 

Tests in Asia ....

 

1. Gavaskar

2. Sehwag

3. Dravid

4. Tendulkar 

5. Sangakkara ( wk ) 

6. Miandad 

7. Ashwin

8. Wasim

9. Kumble 

10. Bumrah 

11. Muralidharan 

 

[vvvslaxman]

7 hours ago, singhvivek141 said:

 

Bishop was quick but in 135-140 with quickest around 144-145 range.

Donald who was a proper 145-150k pacer troubled him. Bishop was visibly slower than Donald. 

Brett shultz was faster than Donald.

[singhvivek141]

4 hours ago, zen said:

In a hypothetical Asian Test 11, below would likely be the bowlers: 

 

Bumrah

Wasim (also seen as a mini AR or useful lower order batsman)

Imran (pace bowling AR too, mostly likely would be the captain as well)

Murali 

Mankad or Jadeja (spin bowling AR too) 

 

Pace bowlers in reserve or for bowler rotation or if a 4th pacer is needed: Waqar (the peak version), Srinath (the peak version from around 1996 to 2001), Shami, etc.

 

Spinners in reserve or for bowler rotation or if a third spinner is needed: Chandra, Kumble, etc. 

 

Combined Asian Test XI

 

Sunil Gavaskar

Sanath Jayasuriya / Saeed Anwar

Kumar Sangakkara

Sachin Tendulkar

Mohd Yousuf 

Rishabh Pant (wk)

Kapil Dev (c)

Wasim Akram

Mohammad Shami

Jasprit Bumrah

Muttiah Muralidharan

 

 

I cant separate the pair of Bumrah-Shami, they were the best pace bowling pair in the modern times. Easily challenging the Auzzie trio.

Edited August 20 by singhvivek141

[singhvivek141]

1 hour ago, vvvslaxman said:

Brett shultz was faster than Donald.

Yes, players and reports do say. But there isnt much data.

Nantie Hayward was the fastest of the three.

 

[vvvslaxman]

Just now, singhvivek141 said:

Yes, players and reports do say. But there isnt much data.

Nantie Hayward was the fastest of the three.

 

He was quicker. But only for a brief period. Donald has the perfect fast bowling run up and release i have ever seen. That run up,grip, leap, follow through everything was just too perfect.

[zen]

2 hours ago, express bowling said:

 

 

My All Time Asian Test 11 ....

 

Tests Outside Asia ..

 

1. Gavaskar

2. Sehwag

3. Dravid

4. Tendulkar 

5. Sangakkara ( wk ) 

6. Miandad 

7. Imran

8. Wasim

9. Shoaib

10. Bumrah 

11. Muralidharan 

 

Tests in Asia ....

 

1. Gavaskar

2. Sehwag

3. Dravid

4. Tendulkar 

5. Sangakkara ( wk ) 

6. Miandad 

7. Ashwin

8. Wasim

9. Kumble 

10. Bumrah 

11. Muralidharan 

 

 

Good teams. I would play Sangakkara as pure batsman as his stats are phenomenal when he is not a WK. Probably has the case of being the best test batsman or at least the best left hander in Asia. 

 

4 minutes ago, singhvivek141 said:

 

Combined Asian Test XI

 

Sunil Gavaskar

Sanath Jayasuriya / Saeed Anwar

Kumar Sangakkara

Sachin Tendulkar

Mohd Yousuf 

Rishabh Pant (wk)

Kapil Dev (c)

Wasim Akram

Mohammad Shami

Jasprit Bumrah

Muttiah Muralidharan

 

 

A good 11, though not sure about MoYo as he tends to struggle in Aus and SA, and Kapil appears to an emotional choice. 

[zen]

My current Asia 11 for sporting conditions 

 

Gavaskar

Sehwag

Sangakkara

Tendulkar

X - any top batsman 

Pant 

Mankad or Jadeja 

Imran

Wasim 

Bumrah 

Murali 

 

Edited August 20 by zen

[singhvivek141]

2 minutes ago, zen said:

A good 11, though not sure about MoYo as he tends to struggle in Aus and SA, and Kapil appears to an emotional choice. 

 

Yeah, I went for Kapil mostly coz I want my no 6 & 7 to be explosive batters who can take down the new ball, also the fact that Kapil's bowling may not be needed much as Wasim, Bumrah, Shami are potent...while Murali is known to bowl extremely long spells without tiring out.

 

I know most might go with Imran, but he as a batter was more defensive. But that wont be wrong either. I anyway have Md Yousuf at no 5 who is a defensive batter so didnt go with him.

 

[putrevus]

 

 

Wasim>Bumrah>Waqar>Shami>Zak>Ishant and others. Imran I have not included as he was not that great in odis.

 

Shami deserved more chances as he is best world cup bowler in history and has never been afraid to fail in big spots. He would have taken 300 plus test wickets too.

 

Wasim takes the crown  for his longevity and his special ability. Plus he would have been a great in t20s too.Plus he was handy batsmen.

 

Our genius has come up short in almost all major matches in longer formats both red ball and 50 overs.

[singhvivek141]

Our pacers in Tests with/without Bumrah

 

Mohd Shami

With Bumrah : Avg 22.80

Without Bumrah : Avg 31.10

 

Umesh Yadav

With Bumrah : Avg 28.10

Without Bumrah : Avg 31.30

 

Ishant Sharma

With Bumrah : Avg 20.40

Without Bumrah : Avg 35.20

 

Mohd Siraj (anamoly)

With Bumrah : Avg 35

Without Bumrah : Avg 25.10

 

 

Except Siraj, all the other pacers improve when Bumrah is there at the other end. It shows how important is it to have a solid partner at the other end. 

 

 

[zen]

Mohd Asif was pretty good but got banned for match fixing iirc.

[singhvivek141]

2 minutes ago, zen said:

Mohd Asif was pretty good but got banned for match fixing iirc.

 

Asif, Aamir, Salman Butt 

He was a druggie as well though.

[Rightarmfast]

When it comes to a choice between Imran and Shami, I may tend towards Shami. He has been an all format bowler. Just a yard or 2 quicker than Imran Khan too. Wouldn't need Imran Khan for his batting in the Test team, when there are such greats already.

I mean, Imran Khan as the captain, and mentor for all the fast bowlers, yes... in that case, Imran gets to play in place of Shami.

[Rightarmfast]

19 hours ago, singhvivek141 said:

Our pacers in Tests with/without Bumrah

 

Mohd Shami

With Bumrah : Avg 22.80

Without Bumrah : Avg 31.10

 

Umesh Yadav

With Bumrah : Avg 28.10

Without Bumrah : Avg 31.30

 

Ishant Sharma

With Bumrah : Avg 20.40

Without Bumrah : Avg 35.20

 

Mohd Siraj (anamoly)

With Bumrah : Avg 35

Without Bumrah : Avg 25.10

 

 

Except Siraj, all the other pacers improve when Bumrah is there at the other end. It shows how important is it to have a solid partner at the other end. 

 

 

In my humble understanding, Shami needs an able partner or else the whole load comes on his shoulders. That's why you see a drop in his average. Ishant sharma, by the time he started bowling alongside shami and Bumrah, was experienced enough and was just finding his ownself. He was a much improved bowler in his 3rd coming. Whereas, Umesh Yadav is different than these 2. He genuinely lacked that self belief most of the time. I think with a better sports psychologist and a supporting management, he may have performed better than he did.

Siraj, obviously wants to be the hero. He likes the challenge.

[Adamant]

21 hours ago, singhvivek141 said:

 

Combined Asian Test XI

 

Sunil Gavaskar

Sanath Jayasuriya / Saeed Anwar

Kumar Sangakkara

Sachin Tendulkar

Mohd Yousuf 

Rishabh Pant (wk)

Kapil Dev (c)

Wasim Akram

Mohammad Shami

Jasprit Bumrah

Muttiah Muralidharan

 

 

I cant separate the pair of Bumrah-Shami, they were the best pace bowling pair in the modern times. Easily challenging the Auzzie trio.

Mohammad Shami over Imran Khan and Waqar Younis 

 

Delusional.

[Adamant]

20 hours ago, putrevus said:

 

 

Wasim>Bumrah>Waqar>Shami>Zak>Ishant and others. Imran I have not included as he was not that great in odis.

 

 

Imran was still better than Ishant in Odis and has a better average than him, won a world cup too for them so you are underrating him here.

 

He is easily better than Waqar in tests.

20 hours ago, putrevus said:

 

 

 

 

Shami deserved more chances as he is best world cup bowler in history and has never been afraid to fail in big spots. He would have taken 300 plus test wickets too.

 

Wasim takes the crown  for his longevity and his special ability. Plus he would have been a great in t20s too.Plus he was handy batsmen.

 

Our genius has come up short in almost all major matches in longer formats both red ball and 50 overs.

 

[Adamant]

19 hours ago, Rightarmfast said:

When it comes to a choice between Imran and Shami, I may tend towards Shami. He has been an all format bowler. Just a yard or 2 quicker than Imran Khan too. Wouldn't need Imran Khan for his batting in the Test team, when there are such greats already.

I mean, Imran Khan as the captain, and mentor for all the fast bowlers, yes... in that case, Imran gets to play in place of Shami.

Bro you would tend towards Gurnoor Brar over Imran too but actual unbiased fast bowling fans ( who have seen their stats) will always know that Shami is not good enough to tie Imrans shoelaces in Tests.