Wasim Akram ranks Sachin Tendulkar at fifth spot in his list of top batsmen, explains why 

Tendulkar and Wasim were involved in few of the game's most riveting battles.

Sachin Tendulkar | AFP Former Pakistan captain and pace legend, Wasim Akram, revealed his top five batsmen whom he either bowled to or played alongside. 

His former teammate Basit Ali invited Wasim on his Youtube show, where the ex left-arm speedster ranked five batsmen as per their exploits in Test match cricket. 

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Wasim picked ace West Indies batsman, Sir Vivian Richards, at the numero uno spot. 

"If you talk about a batsman with an unmatched charisma and someone who had a huge impact on the game it is Sir Vivian Richards. I have played against all the greats from mid-eighties to the nineties to the 2000s, but Viv Richards was a class apart," he said. 

Former New Zealand skipper Martin Crowe was second in the list. 

"At number two I will put Martin Crowe because of his sheer technique," said Wasim. "At a time when the world had no idea about how to face reverse swing, he played against us. It was a series where Waqar picked up 30 wickets in three matches and I picked up 16 wickets in one and a half matches as I got injured. Crowe had scored two centuries in that series."

"After the series, I asked him how did you play me and Waqar so well. He said ‘I played you and Waqar on the front foot when you guys are bowling in swingers and I didn’t follow the ball that was swinging away and hence I didn't edge it."

Third in the list was 'Prince of Trinidad', Brian Lara, acknowledging whose brilliance Wasim said he was very difficult to bowl to. 

"At number three I will put ‘the prince’, Brian Lara. He was a quality batsman. He was very different and odd to bowl at. His bat would come from various directions. He was never settled and it was difficult to bowl to him."

His ex-teammate Inzamam Ul Haq came fourth in Wasim's list while Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was put in the last position. 

Explaining the rationale behind having Tendulkar, the highest run-maker in the history of Test cricket, so far down, Wasim said: "I am keeping Tendulkar aside from this list because we didn’t play Test cricket against him for 10 years. Waqar and I didn’t bowl to him for ten years in Test matches. He came to Pakistan in 1989 as a 16-year old and after that we played against him in 1998."

"I bowled at him at Sharjah in ODIs but Test cricket is different. No doubt he is one of the greats of the game but as a bowler I didn’t bowl to him in my peak and that is why it is difficult for me to judge him," he concluded. 

(Inputs from HT)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 06 Jun, 2020

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