Sachin Tendulkar fifth on Wasim Akram's list of best batsmen
Bowling legend Wasim Akram named his top five batsmen that he either bowled to or played along side. Speaking on a YouTube show, Akram ranked the batsmen in terms of their overall ability in international cricket. The 54-year-old kept Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar at number five as he did not bowl to him much in Test cricket. Here is the full list.
Wasim Akram's five best ever batsmen in order of ranking:
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1. Sir Vivian Richards
2. Martin Crowe
3. Brian Lara
4. Inzamam-ul-Haq
5. Sachin Tendulkar#Cricket
West Indian maestro Viv Richards was the number one-ranked batsman on Akram's list. Richards was touted as the most dangerous batsman of his era. "If you talk about a batsman with an unmatched technique and charisma, it's 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," Akram said.
Former New Zealand skipper Martin Crowe holds the second spot. Akram lauded him for his meticulous technique against reverse swing. "At a time when the world had no idea about how to face reverse swing, he played against us," said Akram. "It was a series where Waqar picked up 30 wickets in three matches. Crowe had scored two centuries in that series."
Akram picked yet another West Indian legend, Brian Lara, at number three. Lara stands out among the greatest left-handed batsmen in international cricket. "At number three, I will put 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," Akram stated.
Inzamam-ul-Haq is at number four on the list. The former Pakistan skipper is a veteran of over 20,000 international runs. He is the highest run-scorer from Pakistan in ODIs, having scored 11,739 runs from 378 matches at 39.52. Inzamam also has 8,830 Test runs to his name at 49.60, having struck 25 tons in the format.
Surprisingly, Akram placed the greatest ever batsman Sachin Tendulkar at number five as the former did not bowl much to him throughout his career. "I am keeping Tendulkar aside from this list because we didn't play Test cricket against him for 10 years. He came to Pakistan as a 16-year-old. After that, we played against him in 1999," Akram concluded.
Little Master Sachin Tendulkar, who is deemed the 'God' of cricket, aggregated a record 34,357 runs in his 24-year-old international career. He owns hundred international centuries to his name, a record still unmatched. Notably, the 47-year-old has slammed seven international tons against Pakistan.
