Legendary Sachin Tendulkar is arguably the greatest to have ever played cricket. There is no hiding to the fact that there was a time when he used to be a one-man army for the Indian cricket team. Part of a star-studded Asia Cup 2023 commentary panel for Star Sports Network, former Pakistani captain Wasim Akram reiterated the same lately.
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Akram, who had dismissed Tendulkar thrice in ODIs and once in Tests during their playing days, revealed how Pakistan just used to focus on getting Tendulkar out in the early 1990s. For the unversed, Tendulkar and Akram participated in a total of 39 international matches across formats against each other between 1989-2003.
Akram last dismissed Tendulkar in the fourth match of Coca-Cola Cup 2000 in Sharjah. As far as their last encounter is concerned, it had come during the memorable ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 match in Centurion where India registered an iconic win. Tendulkar had played an iconic knock of 98 (75) against a lethal bowling attack consisting of Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq.
Wasim Akram Reveals How Pakistan Just Used To Focus On Dismissing Sachin Tendulkar
Especially in the first half of the last decade of the previous century, the Indian batting lineup pretty much revolved around Tendulkar. Even the fans used to turn off their televisions post Tendulkar’s dismissal.
Sitting alongside former Indian cricketers namely Gautam Gambhir and Irfan Pathan during the reserve day of the last India-Pakistan clash in Colombo, Akram disclosed how they used to spend most of their time in finding ways to get Tendulkar out as it would automatically put a lot of pressure on the others.
“Jab bhi meeting hoti thi hamari, 10 minute ki hoti thi. Usmein nau minute Sachin ke baare mai baat hoti thi [Our team meeting used to last for 10 minutes, out of which nine minutes were spent on Tendulkar]. Usko out karlo, baaki palat jayenge [Just get him out, rest of them will fall apart]. Baad me jaake jab Sehwag wagerah aaye hai, tab mindset badla hai ki puri team score karegi [This mindset changed when players like Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir arrived at the scene]. In the early 90s, we used to just focus on Sachin.”
In slight contrast to Akram’s claim, readers must note that things had started to change in the late 90s itself after the emergence of solid and reliable batters such as Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, etc.
Even Abdul Razzaq Had Labeled Sachin Tendulkar As A One-Man Army
It was during his presence on The Nadir Ali podcast earlier this year that former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq had revealed how Tendulkar used to always be a target for the Pakistani bowlers – so much so that the Pakistani seniors would always suggest the likes of Razzaq to focus specifically on sending him back to the pavilion.
“Sachin Tendulkar was a one-man army for the Indian team. Whenever we played against India, our seniors always told us to get Sachin’s wicket. So he was always a target.”
For those who don’t know, Razzaq had an outstanding record against Tendulkar. Not a recipient of express pace unlike other Pakistani bowlers, Razzaq used to rely on swing to successfully challenge Tendulkar. It is noteworthy that he managed to dismiss Tendulkar a total of six times in ODIs – joint third-highest in the format.
