Wasim Akram names his all-time top batsmen; ranks Sachin Tendulkar fifth

06/06/2020

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Wasim Akram has named his all-time top five batsmen that he has played with or played against, where he noted Viv Richards, Martin Crowe, Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq as top four. The pacer named Sachin Tendulkar as the fifth-best and reasoned out that the duo didn’t meet much in Tests.

India’s poster-boy in the yesteryear, Sachin Tendulkar remains as one of the greats to have played the game of cricket. While not only he left a long-lasting impression on the youth but he also left a legacy which is difficult to match. During the best of his days, the right-hander got past some legendary bowlers, leaving them behind, including the West Indies pace troika.

His batting style left an impression on the coming generation, with several bowlers claiming that it was tough to bowl to the master blaster. However, Wasim Akram did not name the Indian batsman in his top-four all-time batsmen. The left-arm pacer’s reasoning was fairly simple - he did not play with or against Sachin during his peak.

“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 1999,” he said, reported Hindustan Times.

“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,” Akram added.

On his list, however, featured the West Indian great Vivian Richards alongside New Zealand’s Martin Crowe from the 80s and the 90s. In the latter part of the 90s into the 2000s, the 54-year-old named the West Indian southpaw, Brian Lara and his former teammate, Inzamam-ul-Haq to round off the list.

Wasim Akram’s top four batsmen: Vivian Richards, Martin Crowe, Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq