Tendulkar or Dravid? Shoaib Akhtar Picks Batsman who was Tougher to Bowl to

Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has had his battles with the best of the best that made a spectacle for cricketing fans all across the globe. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were both pillars of the Indian batting lineup.

There were a few occasions when Akhtar did get the better of the duo, but he did find it more challenging to bowl to the likes of Sachin and Dravid. That being said the Rawalpindi Express spoke about who who thought was tougher to bowl to between the two and this is what he had to say.

Shoaib Akhtar’s challenge back in the day

In international cricket, the Shoaib Akhtar dismissed Sachin and Dravid eight and nine times respectively. However, there were times when things didn’t go in favour of the express fast bowler like it was in the 2003 World Cup as Sachin Tendulkar took the game away from Akhtar and Pakistan. On being asked who he thought was more challenging to bowl to this is what the speedster turned cricket expert had to say.

“Dravid was more difficult to bowl than Sachin,” Shoaib was quoted as saying in an interactive session on Helo App. There have been times when Shoaib Akhtar has given reasons to his claim by stating that Rahul Dravid knew how to wear-out bowlers and especially him who relied on an extremely long run-up.

Akhtar names his mates from the Indian camp

The 44-year-old also spoke about the special relationship he had with some of the Indian players. Among those it was Harbhajan and Yuvraj Singh who he had a better bond with.

“Harbhajan and Yuvraj are good friends in Indian team,” Shoaib Akhtar was quoted saying.

The last time India and Pakistan went toe-to-toe on the cricket field was in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in Manchester, England. It was the Men in Blue who carried on their winning streak against the arch-rivals.