Over the years, the Indian cricket squad has fielded some outstanding batters. Most people might choose Sachin Tendulkar as the name that comes out on top of the list. However, former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has admitted that during his playing days against India, Pakistan’s cricket squad didn’t fear Tendulkar the most. The Pakistani squad deemed Virender Sehwag to be the “most dangerous” player, with Tendulkar coming in second.
“Virender Sehwag was the most dangerous player. After that Sachin Tendulkar. Pakistan used to plan against Sehwag and Tendulkar. Our plan used to be like – if we get these two wickets – Sehwag and Tendulkar – we will win the match. In bowling, our batsmen used to plan against Zaheer Khan. Irfan Pathan was there too for some time. Harbhajan Singh was there. These were the big names who played big matches and performed for their country,” Razzaq revealed in a chat with the Times of India.
According to Razzaq, Yuvraj Singh was another player in the middle order who was regarded as a significant threat by the Pakistan team. Among the bowlers, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, and Harbhajan Singh were the names that Razzaq’s team focused on the most while devising their strategies.
“Yuvraj Singh was the only player in the middle order. The big players were Yuvraj, Tendulkar, and Sehwag. We used to remark that we had taken some significant wickets today when we defeated them. These were the guys who Pakistan had actual plans to stop. The strategy included deciding how and what to bowl, where to bowl to them, how to set up the field, and how many various bowlers and deliveries to use against these batsmen. Similar to this, our batsmen made plans for spinners like Zaheer, Harbhajan, and Irfan,” he added.
