Only Virat comes close to Sachin: Saqlain Mushtaq

Applauding Virat Kohli’s batting technique, Saqlain Mushtaq said that he is the only batsman who comes close to Sachin. Mushtaq said that Sachin was a very big player and he cannot compare two eras but Virat is the only batsman who can match Sachin’s tremendous standards.

One of the most fascinating cricketing duels of the 1990’s was Sachin Tendulkar versus Saqlain Mushtaq. The legendary batsman’s iconic fourth-innings masterpiece of 136 at Chennai was brought an end by Mushtaq’s ingenious ‘doosara’. The master replied in style in the subsequent games and paddle swept the Pakistani spinner. This tussle added a silver lining to the high-voltage India-Pak cricket matches and it remains till date one of the finest clash of titans cricket ever saw.

While praising Kohli, Mushtaq said that Jimmy Anderson beat Virat’s outside edge for more than 40 times but despite this Kohli played the next ball with so much confidence. The former Pakistani cricketer added that Kohli plays ball by ball, run by run and session by session.

According to the off-spinner, Kohli has tremendous hunger for runs and victory and he can do anything to satisfy his hunger.

Mushtaq is currently working as the spin consultant for England and he talked about the England support staff’s opinion on Kohli’s magnificent performance in this Test series so far. He said that during the first Test it became clear that it is England versus Virat Kohli and it becomes very easy for England if Virat is taken out of the equation.

He also pointed out that Kohli’s presence is making it easy for other Indian batsmen to score runs. He stated that having a world class batsman like Virat in your team certainly boosts the entire batting line-up.

Mushtaq bagged 208 wickets in 86 Test innings at an average of 29.83 and is remembered as probably the first spinner to attain mastery over doosra, a variation which only a few bowlers have developed.