Dr. Ali Bacher played 12 Tests for South Africa and led in 4 before the ban imposed in 1970.
Former South Africa captain Dr. Ali Bacher said that legendary India batter Sachin Tendulkar was a freak from a different planet when it came to batting. In the same vein, he called current superstar Virat Kohli the best batter in the world today.
Ali Bacher had played 12 Tests for South Africa in the 1960s and early 1970s, the last four as captain when he led his side to a 4-0 hammering of Australia. This Test series proved to be South Africa’s last before their sporting isolation.
Bacher organized rebel tours to South Africa to ensure local cricket remained strong and vibrant and played a major role in South Africa’s return to international cricket in 1991 when toured India for an ODI series.
His love for all things Indian is obvious, and it’s no surprise when he reveals that of all the players he has interacted with in his second innings in cricket, the one he respects the most is Sachin Tendulkar.
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“One is Sachin, we still communicate. I mean, he is a freak, he’s from a different planet. I've seen so many of his great innings but for me, it's all about how he is as a person. Jeez, has he ever had an argument? I don’t think so. He's just this greatness, this happiness, personified. You know, the Australians believe Brian Lara was better than him, I say rubbish. I say Brian Lara played before four million people. Man, this bloke had 1.4 billion people. Can you imagine the pressure of this bloke? Don't tell me that,” Bacher told Hindustan Times.
Bacher added: “This is the best Indian team I've seen. In Test cricket. Before, you used to have one or two good fast bowlers and that was it -- Kapil Dev and maybe (Javagal) Srinath. Now you’ve got premier fast bowlers and historically, when you got good fast bowlers, you dominate. You’ve got a dashing opening batsman as the captain. From day one, he is after you.
And you’ve got (Virat) Kohli, the best batsman today. Kohli has made this team because I always felt that with India, there was no rubbish said on the field. They behaved themselves. Good boys. Not Kohli. You can see him a mile off and he reminds me of an Australian. He’s injected that fighting spirit. I'm a big admirer of his, he is the best batsman in the world today.”
(Hindustan Times inputs)