New Delhi, May 18: Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar came up with a surprising statement when he claimed that Sachin Tendulkar's wicket in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa was a sad moment for him.
The 44-year-old while interacting with fans on the Helo Live session gave an interesting analogy to the cricket lovers over 2003 World Cup scalp of the Master Blaster.
Akhtar said: "I was very sad because Sachin got out for 98. It was a special inning, he should have touched the century mark. I wanted him to slam the ton. For that bouncer, I may have loved to see him hit a six, as he did it before."
The Rawalpindi Express conceded 72 runs in that match and the only success he had was the wicket of Tendulkar.
India easily chased down the target of 274 and won the match by six wickets to continue their unbeaten run over arch-rivals Pakistan in the World Cup.
Sachin made a remarkable 98 off 75 balls, including 12 fours and a six. Akhtar also praised Tendulkar for dominating the game in the toughest era of cricket. Talking about the ongoing debate between Virat Kohli and Tendulkar, Akhtar said: "If he (Sachin) had to get the chance now, he may hit more than 1.30 lakh runs. So it's not good to make a comparison of Sachin and Kohli."
Talking about the suggestion of playing cricket behind closed doors due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the former Pakistan cricketer showed utter displeasure. "Playing cricket in an empty stadium may be viable and durable for the cricket boards. But I do not think we can market this. Playing cricket in an empty stadium is like marriage without a bride. We need a crowd to play games. Stars become one because of the crowd. I hope the corona situation will be normalised within a year," he signed off.