Sachin Tendulkar: “When I first faced him, I’d never encountered anyone like Wasim. Every game we played against each other I remember. and every time we meet now it is in warm friendship”
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Legendary India batsman Sachin Tendulkar said he had never encountered a bowler like Wasim Akram when he first faced the Pakistan speedster.
Wasim was known for being devastatingly effective as he had a variety of deliveries in his arsenal, along with the ability to move the ball both ways.
Knowing how difficult Wasim made life for him at the crease, Tendulkar admitted he clearly remembers every one of their battles.
“When I first faced him, I’d never encountered anyone like Wasim. Every game we played against each other I remember. and every time we meet now it is in warm friendship,” he wrote in Wasim’s autobiography, Sultan: A Memoir, as quoted by Cricwick.
Wasim took 414 wickets in 104 Tests for Pakistan at an average of 23.62.
He is also the second-highest wicket-taker in ODI history with 502 wickets in 356 matches at an average of 23.52.
The Pakistan team are currently involved in a limited overs series against New Zealand and drew the five-match T20I series 2-2.
The two sides are now playing a five-match ODI series, which the men in green lead 2-0.
The third ODI will be held on Wednesday in Karachi.
Pakistan squad for ODI series against New Zealand:Â Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Usama Mir