Wasim Akram had praised Sachin Tendulkar many a time in the past, and it was no different in recent chat show Salaam Cricket 2019, by India Today.
In a conversation with Vikrant Gupta, Akram also shared his off the field relationship with Indian batting legend, Sachin Tendulkar.
Sharing his memory from Tendulkar’s first International tour, Akram said, “I remember when India was about to come to Pakistan, we heard about a young sensation coming from India. And we thought how could a 16-year-old boy playing Test cricket be so good?”
“But he did not react to provocation from our pacers. Top batsmen do not react. I would get very annoyed when people smiled back. On that tour, Pakistan got to know who Sachin Tendulkar was. We realized this guy was something special.”
https://twitter.com/IndiaToday/status/1135196705605898243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“Tried sledging Sachin Tendulkar but then we realized he would not react. Akhtar tried, Waqar tried. Some guys would get upset, but Sachin would get more motivated,” Akram said.
Both Tendulkar and Akram are friends off the field, and Akram also told the anchor that Tendulkar invited him to his home and cooked food for him. They often talk about the well-being of the family members.
Sachin Tendulkar played five world cup games against Pakistan and won 3 Man of the match awards in them. His first man of the match in a world cup match was against Pakistan in Sydney 1992.
Overall Tendulkar won 9 Man of the Match awards in World Cup cricket. Coincidently his last man of the match award in a world cup was also against Pakistan in Mohali, 2011.