Wasim Akram blames 'fewer contests' for not rating Sachin as his greatest opponent

Wasim Akram blames 'fewer contests against India' for not rating Sachin Tendulkar as the greatest opponent. A 16-year-old Sachin had made his international debut in November 1989 when India had toured Pakistan for a bilateral series.  He had earned a lot of fame and recognition for showing a fearless approach towards the mighty Pakistani bowling lineup. In one of the Test matches, he continued to bat even after being hit on the nose by a vicious bouncer on a green-top wicket and had also clobbered spin legend, Abdul Qadir, for four consecutive sixes in that series. Meanwhile, Akram was already at the peak of his career back then.

Sachin and Wasim did not face each other in Test cricket for almost a decade after that. The two then locked horns when the arch-rivals had met in a three-match Test series on Indian soil. 

'Difficult to judge': Wasim Akram

While speaking to former Pakistani pacer Tanvir Ahmed on the latter's official Youtube channel, the 1992 World Cup winner went on to say no doubt Sachin is one of the greatest of all time and that ex-Pak skipper's Indian fans sometimes get frustrated when he gives his reasons (of a different judgment with regards to an Indian player). The pace legend then mentioned that he had played his first Test against the Master Blaster in 1989 and then played against him in 1999. 

Justifying further, the 'Sultan of Swing' added that as he had not played red-ball cricket against the Little Master for 10 years, it is a bit difficult to judge him as a bowler but as a player, he is one of the greats of the game.

Sachin Tendulkar's successful cricketing career

Tendulkar had made his debut at the international level as a teenager back in 1989. Sachin has scored 15921 runs in 200 Tests and 18426 runs in 463 One Day Internationals. He also remains the top run-scorer in both these formats to date. The Little Master also has 100 international centuries to his name which is a feat that no one else has achieved. The champion batsman also became the first player to score a double century in ODI cricket.

The cricket legend has represented India in six World Cups and was an integral part of the Men In Blue's historic triumph in 2011 where he was the second-highest run-scorer with 482 runs. The 47-year-old was also Team India's backbone in the 2003 World Cup where he had scored 673 runs in 11 matches. India finished as runners-up after losing to the then mighty Australia in a lop-sided final but he was adjudged as the Player of the Tournament.

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