Pakistan batting great, Hanif Mohammad on Tuesday, rated Sachin Tendulkar better than the legendary Australian Sir Donald Bradman and described him as the best batsman he has seen in my life.
“I am one of those fortune people who have seen Bradman and Tendulkar bat in my lifetime and in my opinion Tendulkar is the best batsman I have seen in my life,” Hanif said on Tuesday.
Hanif, who had earned the sobriquet of “little master” like Tendulkar for his batting feats in the 50s and 60s, said he had not seen a better player than Tendulkar.
“I am very sad to hear that Tendulkar has decided to retire from One-day cricket. I hope he continues to play Test matches. Because to my mind he could have played on even in ODIs for another two years,” Hanif said.
“He remains to my mind still the best player in the world. I have never seen a more complete player than Tendulkar and I have always been a great admirer of his batting,” Hanif said.
The former Pakistan captain is due to leave for India as a goodwill ambassador for the Pakistan cricket Board during the current one-day series.
“If possible I will definitely like to meet Tendulkar and have a chat with him in India. It has been a great experience watching him bat all these years,” he added.
Overall the Pakistan cricket community has paid rich tributes to Tendulkar but also expressed surprise at the timing of his retirement from ODIs.
“It is a bit surprising considering he was always such a fierce competitor against us and wanted to do well against us.
His last two innings against us have been half centuries. I would have thought he would chosen this series as his farewell ODI series,” former captain, Wasim Bari said.
Bari is also among the chosen goodwill ambassadors for the series in India.
Bradman was far more superior to Tendulkar. It was greatness from
Bradman to comment to his wife when he saw Tendulkar batting "Hey he
bats like me". Till the 60's fast bowlers could place their front foot
down the pitch and had only to keep their back foot in the crease. For
a fast bowler of 6' 4" tall how much difference it made one can
imagine. On the other hand Tendulkar had the opposition of Zimbabway
Bengladesh Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Bradman had England most of the
time and they had fiery fast bowlers like Tyson. Sachin had to wait
for Bengladesh to make his 100th century.
Couple of days ago, there was a well written article in this area by Mr. Ted Corbett. For some (read of bias) reason this piece has been removed. In the same vein of responses to Mr.Hanif Mohammed's article, it appears Indian readers have difficulty handling truth.
@aniruddha - Just chill, buddy. He must have seen videos of Bradman's
batting. No need to do history research over a simple comment.
I got very curious when and where Mr. Mohammad saw Mr. Bradman batting. According to Wikipedia, Mr. Mohammad was borne 21 December 1934 and Mr. Bradman played his last test match against England in August 1948. His last first class match took place in 1949.
Sadly, Mr. Bradman never toured India as a playing cricketer. "His only visit to India came in the mid fifties when he and Lady Bradman made a brief visit to Calcutta." ('Bradman and the Indian connection' by Partab Ramchand)
Mr. Bradman was borne in 1908 and made his debut in test cricket in 1928. Because of WWII, he could not play any international cricket from 1938 until 1946.
Therefore, Mr. Mohammad must have seen Mr. Bradman bat in an international match either when was 4 or when he was 12-14 in an overseas country. I wonder when and where. The reportage does not state that.
In 1946, Bradman was 38 years old and, by many accounts, lesser player with fitness issues than what he was before WWII.
Hanif, I believe in the late 60's if not mid 70's perhaps suffers from senility. Comparing players of different generation is at best an exercize in futility. Amenities, competition faced and improved bats, bowling and fielding techniques make it almost impossible to have a meaningful analysis. The comparison can at best be made only on Test level and with an average of 99.5 runs per test Bradman is head and shoulders above Tendulkar.
I have heard others who have seen both Bradman and Tendulkar say the same. Their main argument is that Tendulkar had to face much tougher bowling attacks. Bradman played against relatively weak bowling attacks and amassed huge scores. The one series in which he faced a strong attack led by Harold Larwood under the skilfull captaincy of Douglas Jardine (Bodyline Series, 1932 - 33)found Bradman wanting.
But neither Hanif Mohammed nor any Indians saw George Headly of the West Indies at his best. He was probably a batsman in the same class as Bradman and Tendulkar. Walter Hammond could not handle pace and weak on the leg stump. But these three-- Bradman, Tendulkar and Headly, and possibly Hobbs and Graeme Pollock were in a class of their own.
A nice compliment but one has to wonder when exactly Hanif Mohammed may have seen Bradman bat - Bradman retired when Hanif was 13 and further he never visited the sub-continent - or is Hanif succumbing to the trait of one and all that if they do not praise Tendulkar, they perish!
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