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'Never understood Sachin's need to…': Ex-Pakistan all-rounder's 'bunny' claim on Tendulkar
The former Pakistan all-rounder dismissed Tendulkar six times in ODIs but between the year 2000 and 2006, there was only one winner.
For someone to have played international cricket as long as Sachin Tendulkar did – 24 years, it's no biggie that more than one bowler had his number. Look at the stats. More than five bowlers dismissed Tendulkar more than nine times in international cricket. Brett Lee dismissed Tendulkar the most – 14 times – followed by Muttiah Muralitharan and Glenn McGrath with 13 dismissal each. Chaminda Vaas, Jason Gillespie, Shaun Pollock are other renowned named who had the wood over Tendulkar; however, one name that had a reasonable success rate over Tendulkar – more than Shane Warne or even Wasim Akram was Abdul Razzaq.
The former Pakistan all-rounder dismissed Tendulkar six times in ODIs but between the year 2000 and 2006, it was as if everytime Razzaq and Sachin came to face, there was only one clear winner. Time and again, Razzaq managed to fox Tendulkar, often getting him out either LBW or bowled. As years passed and both athletes retired, Razzaq would go on record to claim that he was able to best Tendulkar on numerous occasions gloating in his achievement. Having said that, this time around, Razzaq remained modest and called Tendulkar great for acknowledging the same.
"First of all, Sachin Tendulkar was and will always remain a world-class batsman. However, the star that he was and the kind of fan following which he had, Sachin didn't need to say it (that Razzaq was a tough bowler to face). I never understood Sachin's need to take my name. He could have named anyone - Glenn McGrath, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Ambrose and Walsh, Muralitharan and Shane Warne. So he didn't need to. It was his greatness. The words he chose for me - and I've said this earlier as well - he was being too kind. Not once; he said it quite a few times. Even Sehwag did. A bunny is someone who constantly troubles a batter. But I never gloated in it too much," he said on The Nadir Ali podcast.
Razzaq's streak of dismissing Tendulkar began in the year 2000 when India had toured Australia to play a tri-series involving Pakistan. There, Razzaq dismissed Tendulkar thrice – in Hobart for 96 and Adelaide for 41 and Brisbane for 13. This triggered a series of dismissal for Tendulkar off the Pakistan pacer but the most memorable… one that holds a special place in Razzaq's heart is Karachi 2006.
"When the ball swings, even the greatest of batters get troubled. Sachin Tendulkar was a one-man army for the Indian team. Whenever we played against India, our seniors always told us to get Sachin's wicket. So he was always a target. In fact, there was a time when in the CB Series in Australia when I got him out. In 2006, the Indian team then came to Karachi in which Irfan Pathan picked a hat-trick and we somehow took the total to 240-odd," he added.
"When Sachin batted, we had [Mohammad] Asif, [Mohammad] Sami and myself. When they all finished their spell, only two overs were remaining in the day. Younis Khan, who was the captain, signalled that I had to bowl the over to Tendulkar. I had no such thought in my mind so said to myself 'What is Younis thinking?' When I got the ball in my hands, I realised it was Tendulkar in front. And believe me, I just pitched the ball in the right area and Tendulkar was bowled. If you look at the match, from the clip, he got out in my first over."
