Sunil Gavaskar better than Sachin Tendulkar, says Imran Khan
Former Pakistan captain, Imran Khan believes that Sunil Gavaskar was better than any other batsman in the world, even better than the record-breaking Sachin Tendulkar. The all-rounder-turned politician stated that Gavaskar used to carry his team forward with no support from anyone else, until Kapil Dev started featuring.
Khan was speaking on ‘Agenda Aajtak’ and expressed his opinion when asked to compare the two Indian ‘Little Masters’. Khan, himself, a Pakistan cricketing legend led his nation to their only World Cup title in 1992.
“Sachin never played an innings like Gavaskar did. Look, Gavaskar faced a West Indies attack that had four world class fast bowlers. His record does not tell his actual contribution. I always felt sorry for him when he, alone, used to face a range of fast bowlers when there were none in his own country before Kapil Dev arrived on the scene,” Khan said.
Khan felt that Gavaskar had to face tougher bowlers than Tendulkar had to and that made Gavaskar a much better batsman than any of his peers or any of the batsmen that followed. However, he acknowledged Tendulkar's skills and Tendulkar's contribution to world cricket.
“Sunny played in an era when Dennis Lillee, arguably the best fast bowler, played. Zaheer's (Abbas) timing was impeccable. Majid (Khan) was also the best at his peak and then there was Javed (Miandad). But I do not want to undermine Sachin's achievements and believe comparing players from different eras is not fair,” Khan said.
The 63-year-old showered praise on Indian limited overs captain, MS Dhoni, naming the Indian as his choice for wicketkeeper in an all-time XI, and appreciated Dhoni's cool and composed approach, “Dhoni is a player you can count on in tough times.”
When asked about India's 1983-World Cup winning captain, Kapil Dev, Khan stated his admiration for the former Indian all-rounder. Kapil Dev scored more than 9000 international runs and picked up 687 wickets in a career than spanned 16 years.
“When Kapil arrived, I saw a bowler bowl a bouncer for the first time and that was an exhibition match. He was also a flamboyant batsman and a genuine all-rounder,” he said.
Khan rated former Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir as being better than spin wizards, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble. Qadir picked up 368 wickets in 171 international matches. In spite of Warne and Kumble having picked up many more wickets than Qadir, Khan believed that the era in which his Pakistan teammate played was more difficult for a leg-spinner.
“Don't underestimate Abdul Qadir. Qadir bowled at a time when no leg-spinner got an LBW on the front foot. Shane Warne got so many LBWs on the front foot. So imagine the number of wickets Qadir would have had if he would have played in today's times,” Khan said.