Pakistan Legend On Why He Calls Sachin Tendulkar "The Greatest Of All Time"

Sachin Tendulkar is unarguably one of the greatest batters ever to play the gentlemen's game. Making his debut in 1989, the former India batter went on to smash numerous records and scripted a new chapter in the history of cricket. Sachin, who had a 24-year-long international career, is still the highest run-scorer in the ODIs and Tests. Recently, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar lavished praise on Sachin stating that the legendary batter had an "extraordinary" talent as he faced a variety of bowlers from all over the world. 

In his lengthy cricketing journey, the 'Master Blaster' faced many great bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Akhtar and many more. The India legend still went on to register great knocks. 

"The reason I call Sachin the greatest of all time is because he had to first face Warne, McGrath, Wasim Akram, West Indies and South Africa pace batteries. Then after 10 years he had to face fastest bowlers like Brett Lee, me, Dale Steyn and the other guys. I just thought this guy is crazy, this is not normal, nothing less than extraordinary," Akhtar told RevSportz. 

The pace legend then spoke about Sachin's memorable knock of 98 runs against Pakistan during the 2003 ODI World Cup in Centurion. Akhtar also mentioned all-rounder Yuvraj Singh's name and called him the greatest middle-order batter. 

"The way Sachin smashed us in Centurion was just extraordinary. The way he mounted pressure on us with Sehwag and others, credit to him and also we don't talk much about Yuvraj. He is the greatest of all time when it comes to middle order," said Akhtar.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Sachin Tendulkar Shoaib Akhtar Cricket