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

[Adamant]

For people who are unbiased and interested in actual fast bowling. This is how Shami compares with Imran in tests.

 

Against top 4 teams of their time away from home

 

Imran

Wi - avg 25.13

Aus - avg 28.5

Eng - avg 24.64

Ind - avg 28

 

Shami

Aus - avg 32.16

Eng - avg 42.15

Nz - avg 35.6

SA - avg 23.2

 

To everyone reading this, please don’t let these ICF experts on pace be your guide in understanding pace bowling, all of them are C grade experts with saffron tinted glasses and blind nationalism.

 

They don’t know anything about pace bowling and fap everytime a perennially injured pacer bowls 150kph.

 

Be honest with yourself and accept that Pakistan has had a better history of pace bowling than us. We might surpass them if we manage to get a couple of more ATG pacers but till then they are ahead.

[Adamant]

To all the pace bowling experts here- * Off. 
 

You are the worst analyst of pace bowling I have seen across several forums.

 

Atleast hide your insecurity and bias , the way you flaunt your idiocy makes me feel embarrassed for you.

[Adamant]

On 8/20/2026 at 10:12 AM, singhvivek141 said:

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.

I think you used that bottle cap to scrap off some part of your brain.

 

Check their stats with the new ball and then come back.

[putrevus]

29 minutes ago, Adamant said:

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.

 

Yes you are right,I forgot Ishant stunk in odis.Imran was better than Waqar in tests but odis Waqar was better than him.

[putrevus]

44 minutes ago, Adamant said:

For people who are unbiased and interested in actual fast bowling. This is how Shami compares with Imran in tests.

 

Against top 4 teams of their time away from home

 

Imran

Wi - avg 25.13

Aus - avg 28.5

Eng - avg 24.64

Ind - avg 28

 

Shami

Aus - avg 32.16

Eng - avg 42.15

Nz - avg 35.6

SA - avg 23.2

 

To everyone reading this, please don’t let these ICF experts on pace be your guide in understanding pace bowling, all of them are C grade experts with saffron tinted glasses and blind nationalism.

 

They don’t know anything about pace bowling and fap everytime a perennially injured pacer bowls 150kph.

 

Be honest with yourself and accept that Pakistan has had a better history of pace bowling than us. We might surpass them if we manage to get a couple of more ATG pacers but till then they are ahead.

See that is the problem , Jingoism does not mean you ignore quality of other teams.

 

Maybe I have little bias against Imran due to him being better bowler than Kapil. But he was a  great bowler.I would say he had the best action for reverse swing.He became lethal with reverse swing.

 

I don't think even Wasim reached the peak Imran the bowler reached at his very best.

 

Imran converted himself from medium pacer to ATG fast bowler. The reason why I rate him little lower , he picked and chose the tests he played, for 20 years he played only 80 odd tests.Later part of his career he could afford to bowl very less as he had Wasim and Waqar to carry the load so his avg never went up.

 

Kapil his counter part was the lone ranger, he was the strike and stock bowler.

 

It is ridiculous that people are comparing Imran with Shami. They are not even in same stratosphere. 

 

 

 

Edited August 21 by putrevus

[Rightarmfast]

42 minutes ago, Adamant said:

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.

Come to think of it, yes.. Gurnoor Brar definitely over Imran.

You see, that's the difference between people who have seen 'stats', and people who have seen the player actually 'play'. And then there are some who just 'see' the stat without reading between the line and start blurting out. 

Who's who, depends on who's reading this post. But we pretty much know who's what.

[Rightarmfast]

Like I always say, stats are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive. But what they conceal, is essential!

[New guy]

1 hour ago, Adamant said:

I think you used that bottle cap to scrap off some part of your brain.

 

Check their stats with the new ball and then come back.

Isnt the whole point of bottle caps that even new ball will reverse/move a lot, and you dont need to wait for the ball to naturally get old? Why do you need to wait for ball to get old if you can use bottle caps to tamper a 2-3 overs old ball?

 

For eg, Trestrothick admitted they were using mint to tamper new ball, john lever used vaseline on new ball against india, Philander was caught and fined for tampering new ball, Sanderpapergate was caught because of tampering a new ball, etc etc

 

 

Its hilarious you think new ball wickets disproves bottlecaps, when it proves them more. Bottle caps are short cuts so will be used on newer balls and not older.

 

Shami with bottle caps - avg less than 15 all over the world.

 

Edited August 21 by New guy

[Manucrick]

15 minutes ago, New guy said:

Isnt the whole point of bottle caps that even new ball will reverse and not wait for it to naturally get old? Why do you need to wait for ball to get old if you can use bottle caps to tamper a 2-3 overs old ball?

 

Shami with bottle caps - avg less than 15 all over the world.

 

Bumrah average will be like 10 

[singhvivek141]

3 hours ago, Adamant said:

I think you used that bottle cap to scrap off some part of your brain.

 

Check their stats with the new ball and then come back.

 

You're either naive or completely d*mb.

I am hoping its former while writing the below message. You can skip it if you're latter.

 

Anyway, bottle caps are used to change the state of ball (or make it deteriorate) so that it starts to move outrageously long before it gets old.

 

Your beloved Imran Khan himself said in 1994 that he used bottle caps to reverse in a county game.

 

Just imagine

In 1994,

2 years after his retirement from international cricket. 

In a county game.

 

How many times he would have done that in his actual playing days ? 

Edited August 21 by singhvivek141

[singhvivek141]

4 hours ago, Adamant said:

Mohammad Shami over Imran Khan and Waqar Younis 

 

Delusional.

 

Bekar Younis avged 40 plus in Aus...why would I choose him ? 

 

Imran Khan ko leke I already said people can take him up over Kapil and there is nothing wrong.

 

I am biased towards Bumrah-Shami pair. Wish they both played more together.

Edited August 21 by singhvivek141

[Rightarmfast]

People who were quoting the pace of WI greats, and the pace of Waqar should watch Cummins wicket by Shoriful today!

 

That is what a mean delivery looks like, and it was bowled only at around 128-131 k's. Without any speed gun, the same ball would look at 145, and it terrorized the batsmen. 

[Adamant]

On 8/21/2026 at 6:49 PM, New guy said:

Isnt the whole point of bottle caps that even new ball will reverse/move a lot, and you dont need to wait for the ball to naturally get old? Why do you need to wait for ball to get old if you can use bottle caps to tamper a 2-3 overs old ball?

 

For eg, Trestrothick admitted they were using mint to tamper new ball, john lever used vaseline on new ball against india, Philander was caught and fined for tampering new ball, Sanderpapergate was caught because of tampering a new ball, etc etc

 

 

Its hilarious you think new ball wickets disproves bottlecaps, when it proves them more. Bottle caps are short cuts so will be used on newer balls and not older.

 

Shami with bottle caps - avg less than 15 all over the world.

 

Here we go, another simpleton.
 

Bowlers don’t start tampering at the start of the match. You have been living under a rock if you don’t even know that. These objects are brought up a bit later in the match.

 

Secondly, if Waqar used that than so did Wasim, now in your opinion is Shami also > Wasim because then you do not possess enough braincells to watch cricket .

 

The whole cricketing fraternity will laught at you, the only exception will be these *ing pace experts of ICF, dumb and dumber.

 

[zen]

Ball tampering talk has lost its appeal. Folks need to move on. 
 

 

Edited August 22 by zen

[New guy]

11 hours ago, Adamant said:

Here we go, another simpleton.
 

Bowlers don’t start tampering at the start of the match. You have been living under a rock if you don’t even know that. These objects are brought up a bit later in the match.

 

Secondly, if Waqar used that than so did Wasim, now in your opinion is Shami also > Wasim because then you do not possess enough braincells to watch cricket .

 

The whole cricketing fraternity will laught at you, the only exception will be these *ing pace experts of ICF, dumb and dumber.

 

All the examples i gave above, show they do. I gave you genuine examples of ball tampering caught with new ball, across eras. I back my claims with actual examples. You came back like a child with fingers in his ears who goes, nah aa.

 

Wasim was a genuine talented bowler as shown by him continuing to succeed after more cameras and nuetral umpires. So was Imran

 

But the bowler who fell of a cliff, as soon as scrutiny around ball tampering came into limelight, is the one who clearly benefited most from it

 

You cited imran's stats overseas where you have more cameras, Wasims is also good. Guess who performed miserably overseas where there was more scrutiny?

Edited August 23 by New guy

[Adamant]

11 hours ago, New guy said:

All the examples i gave above, show they do. I gave you genuine examples of ball tampering caught with new ball, across eras. I back my claims with actual examples. You came back like a child with fingers in his ears who goes, nah aa.

 

Wasim was a genuine talented bowler as shown by him continuing to succeed after more cameras and nuetral umpires. So was Imran

 

But the bowler who fell of a cliff, as soon as scrutiny around ball tampering came into limelight, is the one who clearly benefited most from it

 

You cited imran's stats overseas where you have more cameras, Wasims is also good. Guess who performed miserably overseas where there was more scrutiny?

Here we go again, this is data manipulation.

 

Waqar broke his back in late 92-93 and he was never the same bowler after that. This is a documented incident and his contemporaries have always highlighted this.

 

The point is if Younis bowled with a tampered ball than so did Akram, which means even his average is inflated and idiots here can make a case of Shami over him too.

 

 

 

[Adamant]

11 hours ago, New guy said:

 

You cited imran's stats overseas where you have more cameras, Wasims is also good. Guess who performed miserably overseas where there was more scrutiny?

Let’s address this now

 

These are Waqars stats in SEWA

 

Wi- 24.8

Sa - 28.3

Aus - 40

Eng - 27.4

 

Shami averages

Eng 42

Nz 36

Aus -32.5

Sa - 23

 

These stats are still not comparable.

Waqar over Shami anyday and twice on weekends.

[Rightarmfast]

23 hours ago, Adamant said:

Here we go, another simpleton.
 

Bowlers don’t start tampering at the start of the match. You have been living under a rock if you don’t even know that. These objects are brought up a bit later in the match.

 

Secondly, if Waqar used that than so did Wasim, now in your opinion is Shami also > Wasim because then you do not possess enough braincells to watch cricket .

 

The whole cricketing fraternity will laught at you, the only exception will be these *ing pace experts of ICF, dumb and dumber.

 

Bhawnao me beh gaye ho aap. Your language has crossed the limits of decency. It is ok, if that's how you want to continue this conversation. But it doesn't show too well on you.

[Stan AF]