'No one had the courage to sledge Sachin Tendulkar,' says Basit Ali
Former Pakistan middle-order batsman Basit Ali has revealed that no player had the courage to sledge Sachin Tendulkar during his playing days. He added that Tendulkar was too clever to be considered a part-time bowler.
Ali threw light on his rivalries with Indian cricketers- including moments on and off the field- in the latest edition of the 'Basit Ali Show'.
When asked which wicketkeeper used to sledge them a lot, the 49-year-old opted for former Indian wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia.
"Nayan Mongia used to disturb a lot. He used to make a lot of homely statements, which I cannot tell here. When he came here as part of India under-19 team I was very innocent, later on I became very naughty."
He also revealed that Ajay Jadeja used to sledge them the most while adding that Navjot Singh Sidhu and Vinod Kambli used to be the targets for the Pakistani cricketers.
"Ajay Jadeja also became very naughty. They used to abuse openly. Jadeja used to abuse a lot. When he used to come in the room, he used to get beaten a lot as well. Inzi, Rashid, me and Waqar used to beat him a lot. We used to tease Sidhu sahab and Vinod Kambli also a lot. Later we used to hide from them, so that they don't catch us."
When asked if there were any pairs created in the back-and-forth sledging, Ali replied by saying there was no such thing. He added that they used to sledge everyone except Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin as no one had the guts to do so.
"No, nothing like that. Everyone had the duty to sledge whomsoever they can. Except Sachin Tendulkar and Azhar bhai, no one had the courage to sledge Sachin Tendulkar or Azhar."
Basit Ali also labelled the 1990s era as the golden period of India-Pakistan cricket.
"There used to be some abuses also but you will never get that atmosphere again, that was there in the 90s. That atmosphere between Indian and Pakistan can never come now, we also used to go shopping together."
Basit Ali on Sachin Tendulkar as a bowler
Basit Ali was also asked to choose the best part-time bowler in his era between Sachin Tendulkar, Steve Waugh and Salim Malik.
He was, however, quick to point out that Sachin Tendulkar should not be considered a part-time bowler.
"You cannot call Tendulkar a part-time bowler. He was very sharp."
When asked to choose between the trio as they were more renowned for their batting, Ali opted for Sachin Tendulkar. He reasoned that the former Indian batting great was very shrewd and knew when to employ a delivery.
"You can add Mark Waugh also to this list. He was also very clever. I will go with Sachin Tendulkar. He used to read the mind very well. He used to bowl off-break, leg-break, medium pace and he used to know when to use his variations. He knew when to bowl slower one or bowl a leg-break and when to give more flight or bowl it quicker. Just like Hafeez takes great pride in his bowling, same was the case with Sachin. He was very shrewd. He also took many crucial wickets and played a major role in Indian victories."