Srinagar, July 7: Standing by his nine year old statement when he had backed his former teammate Shoaib Akhtar who had said Indian batting legend was scared of him, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has once again has said that Sachin won’t accept it but he was scared.
Afridi who is known for his bold statement has once again said it that Sachin Tendulkar was scared of Shoaib Akhtar on some occasions.
“Dekhiye Sachin Tendulkar aapne muh se toh nahi kahega ki main dar raha hu. (Sachin obviously won’t say it himself that ‘I’m scared’) There were some spells from Shoaib Akhtar in which not only Sachin but some of the world’s best also got shaken up, ” Shahid Afridi said in YouTube live with Zainab Abbas.
“When you are fielding at mid-off or covers, you can see it. You can sense the body language of a player. You can easily understand that a batsman is under pressure, he is not at his usual best. I’m not saying that Shoaib has scared Tendulkar always but there have been some spells from Shoaib that have pushed some of the world’s best including Tendulkar on to the backfoot,” Afridi told Zainab Abbas when he was asked whether he still stands by his statement made in 2011 that Tendulkar was scared of facing Akhtar.
As some may not be aware about it, in 2011, Shoaib Akhtar, in his book ‘Controversially Yours’ had claimed that Sachin was scared to face him. Afridi had gone on to back his teammate saying: “He (Tendulkar) was scared of Shoaib. I have seen it myself. I was fielding at square leg and saw his legs trembling when Shoaib came on to bowl.”