Indian batters except Sachin Tendulkar were scared of me: Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has made an explosive statement ahead of India vs Pakistan clash in the upcoming Asia Cup. 

"Only Sachin Tendulkar was not scared of me but other Indian and world batters were,” said Akhtar.

India legend Sachin Tendulkar had memorable outings agsinst Pakistan in 1999, 2003 World Cups. In fact, in 2003 World Cup, he smashed Pakistani bowlers all over the park to score a match-winning 97.

“Sachin played me the best during the 1999 World Cup. All the other batters were scared of me at that time. Many batters of the world used to stop moving their feet against me,” Akhtar said.

Notably, the last bilateral series played between India and Pakistan was way back in 2012. Since then no such series has taken place as the arch-rivals continue to meet only in ICC events. 

India had met their arch-rivals last time at the T20 World Cup 2021 when the Babar Azam-led side outplayed India completely to beat them by 10 wickets. Barring that lone defeat, India have a good record against the neighbouring country.

As per the pacer, the reason is due to the unnecessary build-up and hype created on media back home that affects the players. 

“Pakistan should have played those games against India as normal games. Our players used to get pressurized by that hype created by TV (media) and we all are used to watch TV,” said Akhtar.