'It was his greatness, the words he chose for me' - Former Pakistan all-rounder opens up on Sachin Tendulkar’s ‘toughest bowler’ praise

Team India has had many legendary batters over the years; however, there have been very few that can touch the status of the great Sachin Tendulkar. In a career that spanned over 24 years, Tendulkar faced many legendary bowlers during his time as a player.

From Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath, and Shane Warne to Dale Steyn and James Anderson among others, Sachin faced some of the most feared bowlers across generations during his playing days. Hence, when the Master Blaster was asked to name the toughest he faced, the 50-year-old might have named one of them but his pick certainly sprang a surprise.

Tendulkar named former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq as the toughest bowler that he faced during his international career. In response to the same, Razzaq recently gave his reaction on a YouTube podcast.

Razzaq opined that with the kind of fan following that Tendulkar had throughout his career, the Mumbai-born could have named anyone as the toughest bowler that he had to battle against. 

"First of all, Sachin Tendulkar was and will always remain a world-class batsman. However, being the star that he was and the kind of fan following which he had, Sachin didn't need to say it (that Razzaq was a tough bowler to face). I never understood Sachin's need to take my name. He could have named anyone - Glenn McGrath, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Ambrose and Walsh, Muralitharan, and Shane Warne. So he didn't need to," Abdul Razzaq said on the Nadir Ali podcast.

"It was his greatness. The words he chose for me – and I've said this earlier as well – he was being too kind. Not once; he said it quite a few times. Even Sehwag did. A bunny is someone who constantly troubles a batter. But I never gloated in it too much," he added.

Recently, Razzaq also named Sachin Tendulkar and former India batter Virender Sehwag as the two of the biggest thorns in Pakistan’s way during their playing days. Razzaq revealed that the team had different strategies for getting Sehwag and Tendulkar out, and even stated that Pakistan thought that getting the wickets of the two batters would win them the game.