Saqlain in 90's , Bhajji (2001-2008), Ashwin of now: Most effective offspinner

[narenpande1]

Inspite Bhajji's exploits in 2001 and a few years thereafter, Ashwin's current phenomenal run, I feel Saqlain at his peak is the best of the lot - this guy used to bowl at the death overs in ODIS and was extremely difficult to hit out !

 

I wonder if it is because of the novelty that doosra was at that time ? Or are Ashwin and Bhajji at their peak better than Saqlain.

 

What about Ajmal ?

 

How would you rate these offspinners at their very best ?

Edited December 4, 2016 by narenpande1

[vvvslaxman]

If you are talking about constantly running through sides Ashwin is the best. Ajmal you cannot overlook his chucking. Saq did well abroad. Not earth shatteirng like Murali in England though. Ashwin's fifer/tenfer ratio is only rivalled by Murali. 

 

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?bowling_hand=1;bowling_pacespin=2;class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=five_wickets;template=results;type=bowling

Edited December 3, 2016 by vvvslaxman

[kosingh]

Murali for me will always be above others. But I reall liked watching Grame Swann. He was so foxxy.

[narenpande1]

1 hour ago, vvvslaxman said:

If you are talking about constantly running through sides Ashwin is the best. Ajmal you cannot overlook his chucking. Saq did well abroad. Not earth shatteirng like Murali in England though. Ashwin's fifer/tenfer ratio is only rivalled by Murali. 

 

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?bowling_hand=1;bowling_pacespin=2;class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=five_wickets;template=results;type=bowling

 

Lets exclude Murali- who was a wrist spinner.

 

just talking about finger spinning off spinners.

 

saq took 5fers every single innings in the test series in india in 1998.

 

 

 

[Vijy]

50 minutes ago, narenpande1 said:

 

Lets exclude Murali- who was a wrist spinner.

 

just talking about finger spinning off spinners.

 

saq took 5fers every single innings in the test series in india in 1998.

 

 

 

Saqlain at his peak was very crafty, but I always felt that he was more of a LOI expert. It's true that he hit his zenith against Ind, but those 2 pitches did favour spin bowling heavily - think Ashwin may have done the same.

[vvvslaxman]

2 hours ago, Vijy said:

Saqlain at his peak was very crafty, but I always felt that he was more of a LOI expert. It's true that he hit his zenith against Ind, but those 2 pitches did favour spin bowling heavily - think Ashwin may have done the same.

He had Waqar, Akram, Musttaq, Akhtar to partner with. Yes i still think he was a better LOI bowler. Ash is a highly result oriented bowler.

[narenpande1]

 

AT THEIR VERY PEAK:

Tests:

1) Ashwin

2) Saqlain

3) Bhajji

 

 

ODIs:

1) Saqlain

2) Ashwin

3) Bhajji

 

 

Edited December 4, 2016 by narenpande1

[narenpande1]

Ajmal ODI eco rate of 4.18 and avg of 22 is nothing sort of sensational in an era where 280+ is par score.

He may be as good as Saq as an ODI bowler.

[maniac]

1 hour ago, narenpande1 said:

Ajmal ODI eco rate of 4.18 and avg of 22 is nothing sort of sensational in an era where 280+ is par score.

He may be as good as Saq as an ODI bowler.

Ajmal was a chucker...now you might make that case for Murali but Murali was acquitted every single time...Ajmal was caught and then when he came up with a regular action wasn't 1% the bowler he was which means he over relied on chucking so any accomplishments of his are taken with a grain of salt.

 

 

[moniker]

Ajmal ODI eco rate of 4.18 and avg of 22 is nothing sort of sensational in an era where 280+ is par score.

He may be as good as Saq as an ODI bowler.

Ajmal is sort of a wrist spinning offie too like Murali.

[Texan]

2 hours ago, narenpande1 said:

Ajmal ODI eco rate of 4.18 and avg of 22 is nothing sort of sensational in an era where 280+ is par score.

He may be as good as Saq as an ODI bowler.

Ajmal was a chucker and as such hs records should not be considered. After correcting his action, he cannot even find a spot in the team. His records should nt be considered. 

[Texan]

In my opinion, for an all wicket player, I would pick Saqlain. He seemed to be an all wicket bowler. However, his home record is not that great. If I was playing in India, undisputably, Ashwin would be at the top of my list. He has improved so much over the years that I feel he is capable of getting wickets even outside, but need to see the results first. 

[Vilander]

Ajmal before ban was chucker not spinner.

[Lannister]

Not really interested about players who played in 90s and before. Ajmal, pre-ban, was still 50 degrees chucker, I don't know how you consider him as a bowler. For me, Murali was the best among the lot, even better than Warne. 

[Sandeep99]

Not sure why you would even put Cuckmal in the list. That guy was a disgrace to cricket. You could see how impotent and ineffective he became with remodeled action, which only shows how he was reliant on chucking. Even with chucking, he was 'pasted' in Australia, New Zealand, and outside UAE. I sincerely hope ICC removes all his records from cricket. He also lied that he had a natural deformity (like Murali). Out and out cheat!

[narenpande1]

Ok folks...took out Chuckmal.

[Sandeep99]

On topic, I think Ashwin is the best. Very very effective. His man of the series awards and five-fers should give us an idea. Saqlain was awesome too. Still remember his epic battle versus Sachin in '99. Very very good bowler but then Sehwag happened in Multan and he took to becoming Mullah and rest is history. Bhajji was great against Australia in '02 series but I thought he never was able to replicate that ever after.

 

So all in all, Ashwin > Saqlain > Bhajji..

 

Mods, please remove the disgraceful cheat's name from the OP. Don't want to see Ashwin, Saqlain's names in the same line as his..