Former Pakistan World Cup winning captain Imran Khan rated Sunil Gavaskar more than Sachin Tendulkar. One of the greatest all-rounder in the world, Imran Khan selected his favourite cricketers in the several positions.
Imran said at “Agenda Aajtak” that Gavaskar had faced tougher fast bowlers than Sachin Tendulkar. He said, “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,”
Imran added, “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.”
Imran Khan selected Pakistani spinner Abdul Qadir as a better leg-spinner than Australian legend Shane Warne and Indian legend Anil Kumble.
Imran said about Qadir, “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,”
Imran also praised Kapil as he said, “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”.
Imran also chose Indian current limited-over skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a best wicket-keeper and talked the strength of him. Imran said, “Dhoni is a player you can count on in tough times.”
Imran also told about his former team-mate and another Pakistani legend Javed Miandad as, “Javed fought till the last ball. That was his strength. So I considered his strengths and weaknesses, which all of us have, and utilised them. He was a great asset to have.”