BENGALURU: Cricket is a lot about statistics and numbers. But Numbers Do Lie, a book by former India cricketer Aakash Chopra, takes a different look at stats. Sometimes, the stories sound bizarre. This is based on the Impact Index analytics by Jaideep Verma, Soham Sarkhel and Nikhil Narain. The launch was attended by India spinner R Ashwin, and former Australia opener Matthew Hayden.
During the launch here on Thursday, this system of measuring player performances had some interesting facts thrown up. Chopra said: “If you go by this system, Ashwin is the highest impact player in Test history, and is the most consistent bowler in history.”
Verma said: “Impact Index measures performance based on the match in series context and not just plain statistics.”
It emerged that Ashwin is the second-highest impact batsman at No 6 after Jonny Bairstow, while the 119 Hayden scored in the Test against Pakistan in 2002 after seven and a half hours of batting came in for praise. This system also put Rahul Dravid as a more high impact player than Sachin Tendulkar.
Dravid and Inzamam-ul-Haq made impact in matches won. Virat Kohli is the third-highest impact batsman in Test history, while the most consistent is Steven Smith. S Badrinath is the highest impact player, who absorbed most pressure in the IPL.
Hayden said: “The game has moved forward so much. Small performances don’t go down in history but they are more satisfying. It is not just runs but partnerships as well.”