Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has reiterated that legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar was scared of facing ex-Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar. It is to be noted that Afridi had first made this claim in 2011.
Afridi, 40, said that Tendulkar won't accept that he was scared of Akhtar and asserted that some of the spells of Rawalpani Express, as Shoaib was fondly called, created panic in the mind of Indian batting maestro.
Akhtar had claimed in his autobiography 'Controversially Yours' that Tendulkar was scared to 'face his scorching pace'. In 2011, Afridi had backed Akhtar's claims.
"Sachin obviously won't say it himself that 'I'm scared'. There were some spells from Shoaib Akhtar in which not only Sachin but some of the world's best were troubled and shaken up," Afridi told sports presenter Zainab Abbas during a YouTube conversation.
"When you are fielding at mid-off or covers, you can see it. You can sense the body language of a player. You can easily understand that a batsman is under pressure, he doesn't look his usual self. I'm not saying that Shoaib has scared Tendulkar always but there have been some spells from Shoaib that have pushed some of the world's best onto the backfoot," he added.
There is no denying the fact that Tendulkar and Akhtar have had some memorable on-field battles during their heydays but the claim made by Shoaib and backed by Afridi is laughable because Tendulkar had always dominated the Pakistani pacer.
Tendulkar averages over 45 against Akhtar in 19 ODIs while Shoaib has dismissed him only 5 times. In Tests, Akhtar has claimed Tendulkar's wicket 3 times in 9 matches.
Afridi also said that Tendulkar was also scared of facing former Pakistan leg-spinner spinner Saeed Ajmal during the World Cup.
"It’s not a big deal, players do feel the pressure at times and it becomes difficult," said Afridi.
