Mohammad Ashraful

[iZeeshan]

We have seen many flashes of brilliance from Ashraful. He has played some valiant knocks for Bangladesh. That knock against England at Cardiff, the one against South Africa in World Cup, and countless others.

But my question to yall is that, has he been unlucky? What would have happened had he played for Pakistan? Or any other team? Would it have made a difference, for better or for worse?

Basically, this guy has and had so much talent and I always feel that he underacheived. I always thought that this kid could have been a legend, but Bangladesh's minute status in cricket has limited him. Especially, in test cricket.

[12thMan]

I think one can only compare him with Razzaq or Afridi and Ashraful doesn't bowl

[iZeeshan]

Huh?

[Easa]

Ashraful is just such a talent, a shame that he hasn't gone out and consistently scored valuable runs for his team. He has the tendency to play one fantastic knock and then 4/5 poor ones, and he needs to sort that out. Hopefully, playing as captain will have a positive effect on his batting.

[Usman Chadda]

His poor shot selection doesnt help his case. Countless times we have seen Ashraful get in and then throw his wicket away carelessly. He needs to improve his temperament if he wants to perform consistently

[Jayed]

But, when he selects his shot and he plays it, mark my words, no player in the world can match is 'improvisation'..making shots out of nowhere, perhaps murali and his kungfu sweep ;)

[Aritro]

He's been maturing slowly in the last 12 months and will probably continue to do so at a more rapid rate now that he's been made captain. IMO getting the captaincy is the only thing that might save a career that was otherwise destined to amount to nothing.

[iZeeshan]

Agreed with others above. Ashraful does have odd shot selection. But if it gets going, it pays reallly well for him. Like that shot he kept playing against SAF in the World Cup. No one had any idea how to stop it!

[Hassaan]

Originally Posted by UsmanCHADDA His poor shot selection doesnt help his case. Countless times we have seen Ashraful get in and then throw his wicket away carelessly. He needs to improve his temperament if he wants to perform consistently

That is true but I dont think it has been a countless amount of times and plus

he is a youngster and he has played very well for Bangladesh and I think

he will improve and become to be a big batsman for Bangladesh

[Bangla Tiger]

Originally Posted by Aritro He's been maturing slowly in the last 12 months and will probably continue to do so at a more rapid rate now that he's been made captain. IMO getting the captaincy is the only thing that might save a career that was otherwise destined to amount to nothing.

exactly...

it seems his temperement has improved with captaincy. i mean he averaged 80 balls faced per innings against SL, with his career average being around 50.

i am praying that captaincy fixes his problems, because i really don't see anyone, anything else fixing them.

if he can be half the batsmen his talent would indicate, then he'll be pretty darn good. but the first target i would like to see his Test average cross 30 within 2 years, and his ODI average approach 30 in the same time (dunno if thats possible given he's played over 100 matches).

[OZGOD]

I think he's overrated, and a good example of how in parts of the subcontinent a flashy, talented but inconsistent player is glorified over another who might not have as much talent, but has much more consistency and is willing to work to reduce his deficiencies. The way Ashraful gets out these days is the same way he used to get out when he first started his career (which is 100+ ODIs and 35+ Tests now by the way). He doesn't learn from his mistakes.

Still, I suppose Bangladesh need a hero of sorts, and he's probably the best player (talent-wise) to come out of there in a while.

[Bangla Tiger]

Originally Posted by OZGOD I think he's overrated, and a good example of how in parts of the subcontinent a flashy, talented but inconsistent player is glorified over another who might not have as much talent, but has much more consistency and is willing to work to reduce his deficiencies. The way Ashraful gets out these days is the same way he used to get out when he first started his career (which is 100+ ODIs and 35+ Tests now by the way). He doesn't learn from his mistakes. Still, I suppose Bangladesh need a hero of sorts, and he's probably the best player (talent-wise) to come out of there in a while.

true, but the thing is this...90% of cricket dismissals are soft dismisals IMO.

most times batsmen throw their wickets away. the difference is ash does so before scoring 10-15 runs and others do so after scoring a ton.

i agree full well that less talented cricketers in bangladesh have gotten less chances than ashraful, but there is also a good reason for that: namely ash on his day can tear any bowling attack to shreds, he can swallow anyone and crap him back out. apart from maybe aftab, no other BD batsmen can do that. heck, few batsmen in the world can do that in the sheer eye-popping manner ash has done so. its just he needs to make it more often, and also chip in with less gaudy but still solid performances. again captaincy should do the trick. a lot more responsibility now. he's like a dad who has to stop partying and drinking and staying out late.

[The Chaudrey]

Originally Posted by iZeeshan We have seen many flashes of brilliance from Ashraful. He has played some valiant knocks for Bangladesh. That knock against England at Cardiff, the one against South Africa in World Cup, and countless others. But my question to yall is that, has he been unlucky? What would have happened had he played for Pakistan? Or any other team? Would it have made a difference, for better or for worse? Basically, this guy has and had so much talent and I always feel that he underacheived. I always thought that this kid could have been a legend, but Bangladesh's minute status in cricket has limited him. Especially, in test cricket.

I don't agree with the argument that playing for a 'weaker' team affects your ability to perform. You only need to look at the performances of Andy Flower, and to a lesser extent, Brian Lara. Flower, it must be remembered, literally kept Zimbabwe's batting afloat and spent time as the no.1 rated batsmen in the world and ended up with a career average of over 50.

Ashraful has been solely responsible for his performances and after over 3/4 years of playing international cricket he should have learnt some consistent shot selection to go with his undeniable talent.

[freelance_cricketer]

170 not out against Lankans. lol

[Justcrazy]

Ashraful is talented no Doubt , but Talent without temperament is useless. If he had temperament he would have reached 10 000 Test runs.

[shah_1]

The biggest underachiever in history of cricket, he had so much talent