During his spectacular 24-year career, Sachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as the finest batter to have ever played the game. He also holds the record for the most hundreds (100) scored by a batsman in international cricket. At the same time, he holds the record for having accumulated the most number of runs in one-day internationals and tests.
Even though Sachin has multiple cricketing records to his credit, Shoaib Akhtar, the renowned opener’s long-time on-field opponent, believes that the legendary opener could have easily scored 1 lakh runs if he had three reviews throughout his playing career.
Akhtar has provided more clarity on his comments, stating that the hitters are now in control of the game to an excessive degree, while the bowlers have minimal benefit. When speaking with former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri, the speed legend also remarked that the introduction of two new balls in One-Day Internationals has made life difficult for the bowlers and that he is not persuaded by the structure of three reviews in Test cricket, according to reports.
“You have two fresh balls in your possession. You have tightened the regulations even more. Nowadays, you give batters a tremendous amount of leverage. You have now been granted three reviews. If we had three reviews during the time of Sachin Tendulkar, he would have hit one lakh runs,” Shoaib Akhtar said on his own YouTube channel while chatting with fans.
Shoaib Akhtar describes what it is about Sachin Tendulkar that makes him such a difficult batter
While reporting on this development, the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ also stated that Sachin Tendulkar had previously faced the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, and others before taking on the next generation of speedsters, which is why the tearaway fast bowler considers him to be a very difficult batter.
“I genuinely feel sorry for Sachin Tendulkar. One of the reasons I feel sorry for Sachin Tendulkar is that he began his career playing against Wasim (Akram) and Waqar (Younis), then he faced (Brett) Lee and Shoaib (Akhtar), and finally, he faced the next generation of fast bowlers. As a result, he has earned the title of “extremely difficult batter,” according to him.
The quantity of runs achieved by the batting great at the top level is undoubtedly a goal for every batsman who aspires to achieve such a feat. Tendulkar amassed 51 test tonnes, with 49 of them coming in one-day internationals (ODIs). When he announced his retirement from cricket in November 2013, he had scored 15,921 runs in 200 Test matches at an average of 54.04 and 18,426 runs in 463 One Day Internationals at an average of 44.83 throughout his career.
