Both went on to become legends, its bad to see that People underestimate Waqar as a bowler. He had a great strike rate, even better than Wasim in ODI.
It all depends on what attributes you cherish...
brilliance over a short period of time or longevety....
Tendulkar has never been GREAT over any particular short length of time... his strength has been that he has been consitent from the age of 16 to 38 now..... that is GREAT but in a different context...
for example when he and Lara batted together... Lara was greater... when he and Ponting batted together... Ponting was better..... when he and Dravid batted together Dravid was better...
Waqar on the other hand.... when he was bowling in early 90s.... no one came close.... no one has ever come close to that quality since... (maybe Malcolm Marshall)
The only reason that Tendu gets more plaudits from the layman is cos of the stats that are considered mainstream...
ie longevity type stats....
BUT in REALITY...
Whilst longevity is great... I value the quality you had at your PEAK to be a million times more VALUABLE....
yes there is a question mark over length of period do you use to measure PEAK... but I think we are all sensible enough to choose an apprpriate length of time...
Other reason why Waqar doesn't get right amount of credit is cos at the time when he reverse swung it was considered cheating... now its considered an art from.
look at the praise Umar gul and Malinga get now... Waqar was a MILION times better than them.....
Sachins greatness = longevity. he ahs sustained being excellent over a period that no one else has come close to.
Waqars greatness =when he was at his best, no one was as good... or has been before or since....
Sachin is like... frankie fredericks or Roger Black.... the guy that was second best.... but was second best for a long time.....
Waqar is like Usain Bolt.... the greatest at his peak...
Its no wonder... Usain Bolts childhood hero was Waqar