Steve Waugh rates Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara on 'equal terms'

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh speaks to fans at Bangalore

Former Australian skipper and cricket great Steve Waugh has rated Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar and West Indian genius Brian Lara on “equal terms.”

He equated their performances based on the fact that they played for two different sides and in different conditions.

Speaking at a function in Bangalore, Waugh said, “I hate comparisons between players because it unnecessarily creates controversy. Both played under different pressure and for different teams. I would place them pretty much on equal terms.”

Both cricketers were fantastic and won games for their teams in different conditions, he said, according to reports from NDTV.

“Sachin was carrying on his shoulders amazing pressure of 1.3 billion people. Brian obviously was the best player in a weak team.”

Previously Ricky Ponting, the man who took over from Waugh as the captain of Australia had rated Brian Lara higher than Tendulkar as according to him he had won more matches for his team as compared to his Indian counterpart.

Waugh obviously disagreed with Ricky and was far more balanced in his point of view. He also believed that India will be able to move on after the retirement of Tendulkar as all great cricketers would have to retire at some point of time.

Steve Waugh also had very high praise for the present Indian captain MS Dhoni. “During Australia’s tour of India last year, Dhoni came in and scored a double century when India’s chips were down. He knows how to perform at the big stage. He has got so much of magical touch,” Waugh said.

Waugh was also asked about the present situation that Australia find themselves in the Ashes where they were not able to get on the right side of the DRS decisions.

A lot of people from Australia have called for the cancellation of the DRS system but Waugh disagreed. “We are getting more decisions right than wrong and I think it is a positive development,” he signed off.