Srinagar: Former Pakistan cricketer Saqlain Mushtaq has claimed that a star former India cricketer was his bunny who never lasted one over against him.
Saqlain Mushtaq is considered spin legend and had many duels against India stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and others.
However, the battet Saqlain enjoyed bowling to and found exceptionally easy to dismiss, it was Ajay Jadeja, whom he dismissed 6 times in ODIs. In fact, during an ODI series in 1997, Saqlain clean bowled Jadeja three times in three matches, making him his bunny.
“There was a time when Ajay Jadeja’s face used to go pale upon seeing me bowl. I’m sure he never lasted one full over against me. He always got out and even told me. But all the other players – Sachin, Azharuddin, Ganguly, Dravid were dangerous batters. Very difficult,” Saqlain said on The Nadir Ali podcast.
Among that star-studded batting line up of the 1990s and 2000s, Saqlain named Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid as the toughest to bowl to. Saqlain dismissed Dravid 3 times in Tests and Tendulkar twice in ODIs and thrice in Tests, but it wasn’t before the Pakistan legend was pushed to his limits.
“Sachin and Dravid. I have gotten them both out but you have a play a long game. There is a difference between catching a rat and catching a tiger. These batter, you can’t catch them like rate. I had to think for hours how to fox them, trap them and get them out. Sometimes I bowled 20 overs, and even them I couldn’t. So it’s not easy. In order to get the better of world-class batters, you have to broaden your thinking, show patience, and keep trying,” added Saqlain.