F.P. Report
LAHORE: Legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar says Pakistan’s ‘Sultan of Swing’ Wasim Akram could make the ball talk.
The Indian cricket great said in his publication that cricket was a team game but truly it s a war between bat and ball. Wasim Akram used to be the biggest challenge for the opposite team’s batters, he said.
“Batters learn and polish their skills while facing a bowler of such calibre and this experience always stays with you,” he said. He said Akram was a master and could make the ball talk. “His run-up was natural unlike other bowlers. He was never bound to count his steps,” Tendulkar added.
“Wasim Akram used to do effective bowling with any start; when I faced him for the first time, it was a completely new and unique experience. I remember every match played against him,” he said.
In his Test career, Akram took 414 wickets in 104 matches, a Pakistani record, at an average of 23.62 and scored 2,898 runs, at an average of 22.64. In One-Day Internationals (ODIs), Akram took 502 wickets in 356 appearances, at an average of 23.52 and scored 3,717 runs, at an average of 16.52.
