Shahid Afridi rates both Brian Lara and AB de Villiers higher than Sachin Tendulkar

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi recently interacted with his fans on Twitter. He answered a multitude of questions posed by the users on the microblogging site, including naming his favourite batsmen from India and the best batsman he has ever bowled to. Being a world-class all-rounder himself during his playing days, Shahid Afridi also picked his favourite all-rounder when asked about the same.

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Shahid Afridi ignores Sachin Tendulkar while naming best batsman he has ever bowled to

On Wednesday, July 29, Shahid Afridi picked former West Indies captain Brian Lara as one of the best batsmen he has ever bowled to. He also named ex-South African skipper AB de Villiers. Interestingly, he ignored former Indian captain and batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, who scored heaps of runs against the Pakistani bowling attack during his playing days. The ‘Master Blaster’, who made his debut in 1989, faced bowlers like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Shahid Afridi himself before announcing his retirement in 2013.

Additionally, Sachin Tendulkar holds some of the major Test and ODI batting records of all time like aggregating most international runs and stockpiling 100 centuries. Moreover, Brian Lara himself has repeatedly picked the Indian batting wizard as his favourite batsman of all time.

Interestingly, Afridi has never been able to dismiss Tendulkar in ODIs or Tests matches ever. In ODIs, Tendulkar has scored at a strike rate of 114.5 against him. On the other hand, Afridi has dismissed de Villiers 5 times in ODIs and Lara atleast once, with the left-hander often struggling against spinners in the subcontinent.

Shahid Afridi picks Brian Lara and AB de Villiers

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Apart from picking Brian Lara and AB de Villiers among best batsmen he has ever bowled to, Shahid Afridi also picked his favourite Indian batsmen and favourite all-rounder in the world. The 2009 T20 World Cup-winning cricketer named current Indian captain Virat Kohli and his ODI deputy Rohit Sharma as his favourite ‘Men in Blue’ batters. Among all-rounders, Shahid Afridi picked one of England’s elite contemporary cricketers Ben Stokes.

Shahid Afridi on why he does not like Gautam Gambhir as a person

While talking to former Pakistani TV host Zainab Abbas, Shahid Afridi said that he has always liked Gautam Gambhir as a cricketer but does not like him as a human being. He stated that the former Indian opening batsman can sometimes say certain things and gives out a certain treatment that makes one feel ‘just let it be’. Both Shahid Afridi and Gautam Gambhir do not get well along with each other and have been engaged in many exchanges on social media over the past few years.

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Image credit: PTI and AP