"When I was growing up, I watched the Imran Khan - Sunil Gavaskar rivalry" : Sachin Tendulkar

[Haroon786]

"When I was growing up, I watched the Imran Khan - Sunil Gavaskar rivalry" : Sachin Tendulkar

Test cricket needs some great rivalries again to get back the interest the longest form of the game once held for fans, batting great Sachin Tendulkar said today.

"When I was growing up, I watched Imran Khan bowling to Sunil Gavaskar and their rivalry was really engaging. We saw how to defend on backfoot among many other things. The competitive rivalries of Viv Richards-Jeff Thompson, Curtly Ambrose-Steve Waugh, Brian Lara-Shane Warne generated a lot of interest among the fans.

"The West Indies were magnificent in the 1980s and also in the 1990s. The whole world's target was to beat them. Then came Australia. They had nine world class players and two terrific players. If 3-4 of their players clicked and did the job, they would win. That is missing today," said the 43-year-old.

https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/sac...valries-are-missing-from-test-cricket-1633509

 

[Junaids]

Mmm.

I'm English, and I think there's a certain rivalry between we soap-dodgers and the convicts.

And India would have one too if they'd only play their neighbours.

 

[street cricketer]

Imagine the revival of the rivalry between the batsmen of India and pacers of Pakistan.

Kohli, Pujara, Rahane, Rahul vs Amir, Wahab, Sohail, Rahat.

Ashwin vs Yasir

Would be great to watch. If only..

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Yes if only...

The governments would just grow up.

Let cricket be cricket.

Not a means of making political statements.

This goes for both countries, Pakistan and India.

 

[cricket.mad]

Yes if only...

The governments would just grow up.

Let cricket be cricket.

Not a means of making political statements.

This goes for both countries, Pakistan and India.

It's not possible brother..cricket is very important aspect of life's of majority of people in both the countries..playing it when you have so many burning issues and such a tense atmosphere is not right. .if I write much ,it will become political...unless and until huge improvement in relations between two natons happen,it is not possible to have a bilateral series in nearby future..

 

[Hitman]

As great as Wasim Akram was (truly unbelievable), Imran Khan was even better. Imran Khan is the greatest fast bowler from the sub-continent. And till that point, Sunny was the greatest batsman from the sub-continent.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

It's not possible brother..cricket is very important aspect of life's of majority of people in both the countries..playing it when you have so many burning issues and such a tense atmosphere is not right. .if I write much ,it will become political...unless and until huge improvement in relations between two natons happen,it is not possible to have a bilateral series in nearby future..

I have many Indian friends in Beijing.

I have travelled extensively to different countries.

None of the Indian people I meet, have ever treated me harshly, or complained about Pakistani people in general.

They accept, that it is political issue, which is cause of tension.

Sports should NEVER EVER BE POLITICIZED.

The entire concept of sports is, representation at highest level, without regard for who plays who. When you use sports to highlight rivalries and tension, you are also part of the problem.

Both nations have failed miserably, more so India in this regard, because they want to politicize the environment.

And even you today, have tried to make a political statement on a Cricket forum.

Totally wrong.

 

[Romali_rotti]

Who had the upper hand in the Sunil vs Imran battles ? Was it a check mate or did Imran win this one ?

 

[Hitman]

Who had the upper hand in the Sunil vs Imran battles ? Was it a check mate or did Imran win this one ?

Imran has always rated Viv and Sunny to be the 2 greatest batsmen of his time -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR8cytdU0Mo

 

[PakLFC]

Sunny was the ideal opener. It would have been great to see Wasim Akram bowl to him.

 

[Sidilicious]

Sunny was the ideal opener. It would have been great to see Wasim Akram bowl to him.

I think there was series in 86/87 (Sunny's last series) where they played against each other.

 

[jeetu]

Who had the upper hand in the Sunil vs Imran battles ? Was it a check mate or did Imran win this one ?

Matches featuring Imran-Gavaskar

Gavaskar avg 57.92 (Home 52.92 , Away 62.92)

Imran (bat avg 48.41 - bowl avg 20.69)
Home (58.50 - 18.50)
Away (42.90 - 25.44)

 

[Suleiman]

Imagine the revival of the rivalry between the batsmen of India and pacers of Pakistan.

Kohli, Pujara, Rahane, Rahul vs Amir, Wahab, Sohail, Rahat.

Ashwin vs Yasir

Would be great to watch. If only..

lol come on... the contests worth watching would be Ashwin vs Yasir, Rahul vs Babar, Azhar vs Pujara, our pace attack is nothing.

Also Yasir vs Kohli.

 

[street cricketer]

I remember reading an anecdote about Imran and Gavaskar somewhere. Once Gavaskar was batting against Imran. Imran comes steaming in and bowls an express delivery. Sunny plays the perfect front foot defense. Imran shouts out to Ramiz saying see, that's how you play a frontfoot defense. I'm not sure about its authenticity but was funny nonetheless. Rambo probably mucked up in that match.

 

[street cricketer]

lol come on... the contests worth watching would be Ashwin vs Yasir, Rahul vs Babar, Azhar vs Pujara, our pace attack is nothing.

Also Yasir vs Kohli.

Pakistan fast bowlers always raise their game against India.

Won't be surprised if Wahab transforms into MJ mode against us, especially in test cricket where he suddenly puts in a beastly spell.

 

[jeetu]

Sachin Tendulkar: Treat to watch Virender Sehwag bat
http://www.cricketcountry.com/news/sachin-tendulkar-treat-to-watch-virender-sehwag-bat-553893

Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Saturday said he enjoyed watching former India opener Virender Sehwag bat the most, while admitting that he feared facing former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje as a bowler. “It is strange but Hansie got me out on a number of occasions,” Tendulkar said during an interactive session at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. He said it was a treat to watch Sehwag bat because it was difficult to predict his next move. “With Sehwag, I didn’t know what was going to happen next. After playing with him for a while I understood what he was thinking,” Tendulkar said.

He described West Indies batsman Brian Lara as a “special package” and tennis star Roger Federer as his “favourite non-cricket hero”. He also said Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar and Australian fast bowler Brett Lee were the fastest bowlers that he faced.

On the same platform, Tendulkar suggested that India should have two pitches for each Ranji Trophy match. “I have thought a lot about neutral venues in Ranji Trophy [which is being experimented this season]. I have a suggestion which can be radical. When we go to places like Australia, New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa, we play with kookaburra balls which swings early. Think about a young Ranji batsman playing with SG Test in India and then facing difficulty overseas,” said Tendulkar.

“Let us have the first innings on a green top with kookaburra balls which would give openers a challenge. Even bowlers will have something. Our spinners will also learn how to bowl with kookaburra on Green tops,” Tendulkar explained.

His next suggestion was even more interesting. “Now let there be a pitch adjacent to the green top which would be a rank Turner. Now the second innings will be played on that track with the SG Test ball which would also help our batsmen play against quality spin bowling. We have been too focused on playing pace in overseas conditions but we should not forget how to play spin bowling."

 

[Hawkeye]

I remember reading an anecdote about Imran and Gavaskar somewhere. Once Gavaskar was batting against Imran. Imran comes steaming in and bowls an express delivery. Sunny plays the perfect front foot defense. Imran shouts out to Ramiz saying see, that's how you play a frontfoot defense. I'm not sure about its authenticity but was funny nonetheless. Rambo probably mucked up in that match.

Imran and Sunny always got along very well I think.

Had respect for each other and both don't hold back when showering each other with praise.

 

[Bilal7]

As great as Wasim Akram was (truly unbelievable), Imran Khan was even better. Imran Khan is the greatest fast bowler from the sub-continent. And till that point, Sunny was the greatest batsman from the sub-continent.

This is true, at least in test matches. Imran > Wasim > Waqar >>> Rest, is how the hierarchy goes. Might be doing a disservice to Asif and Fazal but they didn't play enough in a variety of conditions.

 

[Hitman]

This is true, at least in test matches. Imran > Wasim > Waqar >>> Rest, is how the hierarchy goes. Might be doing a disservice to Asif and Fazal but they didn't play enough in a variety of conditions.

No bowler from the sub-continent can claim to be as good as Imran, let alone be better than him. This is no disrespect towards legends like Wasim, Waqar or Fazal. It's just that Imran was even superior.

 

[Bilal7]

No bowler from the sub-continent can claim to be as good as Imran, let alone be better than him. This is no disrespect towards legends like Wasim, Waqar or Fazal. It's just that Imran was even superior.

None but Marshall from the entire world too. Imran had an unbelievable peak, while also being responsible for scoring runs and captaining the Pakistani side. What a legend.

 

[Hitman]

None but Marshall from the entire world too. Imran had an unbelievable peak, while also being responsible for scoring runs and captaining the Pakistani side. What a legend.

I have always believed that Pakistan cricket would have been nowhere it was during the 90's (Pak was a very good team during the 90's), if it wasn't for Imran's work during the 70's and 80's for his team.

 

[ExplicitAI]

I actually wonder if any Pak cricketer can actually push the Indian team to a similar rivalry in the past. Now it just looks one-sided with India bullying Pakistan in every game whether it's international, women's team or u19.

 

[Bilal7]

I have always believed that Pakistan cricket would have been nowhere it was during the 90's (Pak was a very good team during the 90's), if it wasn't for Imran's work during the 70's and 80's for his team.

Pretty sure that is the majority's belief. Imran handpicked Waqar from the domestic wilderness, just in time for him to hit his peak a mere two series after he received his first cap. Wasim was nurtured by Imran himself and Inzamam was his "laadla". He also had an impact on the other players that featured in our 90s team.

Guy is basically a founding father of Pak cricket.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

We can't see these battles

Kohli vs Amir
Kohli vs Yasir
Younis vs Ashwin
Sarfaraz vs Ashwin

 

[EliteCynical]

I remember reading an anecdote about Imran and Gavaskar somewhere. Once Gavaskar was batting against Imran. Imran comes steaming in and bowls an express delivery. Sunny plays the perfect front foot defense. Imran shouts out to Ramiz saying see, that's how you play a frontfoot defense. I'm not sure about its authenticity but was funny nonetheless. Rambo probably mucked up in that match.

This was told by Rameez on air and Sunny said "Be careful Rambo. He could be the next PM of pakistan"

 

[cricketAXEpert]

lol come on... the contests worth watching would be Ashwin vs Yasir, Rahul vs Babar, Azhar vs Pujara, our pace attack is nothing.

Also Yasir vs Kohli.

Indian Play spin very Well. Yasir vs Kohli might be one sided

 

[Hadi Rizvi]

Indian Play spin very Well. Yasir vs Kohli might be one sided

Not on rank-turners

 

[KashifButt]

When I grew up I watched the rivalry of Shoaib vs Tendulkar and Sehwag. More often than not, it was Shoaib coming out on top with the odd victory here and there for the Indian batsman.

It is a real shame we are not witnessing the rivalry of Amir and Kohli and Yasir and Ashwin. Hopefully the BCCI can grow up and stop being such attention seekers and greedy so we can witness great Indo-Pak rivalries reborn.

 

[yasir]

Imagine the revival of the rivalry between the batsmen of India and pacers of Pakistan.

Kohli, Pujara, Rahane, Rahul vs Amir, Wahab, Sohail, Rahat.

Ashwin vs Yasir

Would be great to watch. If only..

One of the reason, test cricket is less exciting in Asia, because best team for these conditions never play against each other... You can only have so many hypothetical threads on who is good, the real test has to be on the field

It can create more excitement then IPL, test cricket is like God Father, that beats Avengers any day

 

[street cricketer]

When I grew up I watched the rivalry of Shoaib vs Tendulkar and Sehwag. More often than not, it was Shoaib coming out on top with the odd victory here and there for the Indian batsman.

It is a real shame we are not witnessing the rivalry of Amir and Kohli and Yasir and Ashwin. Hopefully the BCCI can grow up and stop being such attention seekers and greedy so we can witness great Indo-Pak rivalries reborn.

Akhtar had the 2nd worst average of his career against India (first being Australia).

 

[moghul]

This is true, at least in test matches. Imran > Wasim > Waqar >>> Rest, is how the hierarchy goes. Might be doing a disservice to Asif and Fazal but they didn't play enough in a variety of conditions.

Wasim is a legend , no doubt, but at their peak my ranking is Imran >>Waqar>>Wasim.