Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has reiterated that batting legend Sachin Tendulkar was ”scared” to face Shoaib Akhtar in some spells during their famous duels.
“Sachin obviously won’t say it himself that ”I’m scared”. There were some spells from Shoaib Akhtar in which not only Sachin but some of the world’s best also got shaken up,” Afridi told TV anchor Zainab Abbas in a chat on her YouTube channel.
“When you are fielding at mid-off or covers, you can see it. You can sense the body language of a player. You can easily understand that a batsman is under pressure, he is not at his usual best. I’m not saying that Shoaib has scared Tendulkar always but there have been some spells from Shoaib that have pushed some of the world’s best including Tendulkar onto the backfoot,” Afridi said.
WATCH Shahid Afridi Chat with Zainab Abbas
Akhtar got rid of Tendulkar three times in nine Tests and five times in 19 ODIs.
Afridi went on to add that Tendulkar looked scared to face off-spinner Saeed Ajmal too during the 2011 World Cup which India won.
“During the World Cup, he also looked scared of Saeed Ajmal,” Afridi said. “It’s not a big deal, players do feel the pressure at times and it becomes difficult.”
Shahid Afridi’s All-Time XI Cricket team:
The legendary all-rounder from Pakistan, in a career spanning almost two decades, played the game with possibly the best generation of the players. In his XI, Shahid Afridi has included five players of Pakistan, 4 players from Australia and one each from India and South Africa.
Shahid Afridi has chosen his teammate Saeed Anwar along with the fiery Adam Gilchrist to open the innings. While Saeed Anwar is one of the best openers produced by Pakistan, Adam Gilchrist is well known for his exploits in international cricket.
Shahid Afridi has slotted former Australian captain Ricky Ponting and Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar at No.3 and No. 4 respectively. At no.5, Afridi has gone with Inzamam-ul-Haq, a World Cup hero and one of the best middle-order players from Pakistan. South African great Jacques Kallis has been slotted at no. 6 with Rashid Latif donning the gloves at No.7.
As far as the bowling department is concerned, Afridi has picked three fiery speedsters in the form of swing king Wasim Akram, Australian great Glenn McGrath and World’s fastest bowler Shoaib Akhtar along with the legendary Shane Warne to complete the attack.
Here is Shahid Afridi’s All-time XI:
Saeed Anwar, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Jacques Kallis, Rashid Latif (Wk), Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Shoaib Akhtar.
Also read: Former Pakistan Cricketer Shahid Afridi Tests Positive for Coronavirus
