Sachin Tendulkar would have scored more than 1.30 lakh runs in the current era: Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar, the former Pakistan fast bowler, reckons that it’s unfair to draw comparisons between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Over the last few years, Virat has taken apart a number of records, created by the Master Blaster. In fact, Kohli is also expected to topple Sachin’s tally of 49 ODI centuries.

The Delhi-born Virat is the only batter with a 50 plus average in all three formats. At the age of 31, he is also one of India’s most successful skippers. Talking about the comparisons, Akhtar said that both of them played in different era.

Sachin Tendulkar batted in the toughest era of cricket: Akhtar

The Rawalpindi Express also stated that had Tendulkar been among the current crop of players, he would have notched over 1.30 lakh runs at the highest level. Akhtar quipped that Sachin played in the ‘toughest era of cricket’.

“Tendulkar batted in the toughest era of cricket. If he had to get the chance now, he may hit more than 1.30 lakh runs. So, it’s not good to make a comparison between Sachin and Kohli,” Akhtar was quoted as saying in Cricket Pakistan.

Sachin made his debut way back in 1989 against Pakistan and in his debut series, he bled from his nose. However, instead of buckling down, he came out firing on all cylinders. As his career progressed, he kept smashing records, which otherwise were deemed insurmountable. In 2009, he was also the first batsman on the planet to smash a double ton in ODI cricket against South Africa.

Moreover, Sachin has the highest number of Test caps (200) in his career, which spanned 24 years. He retired after India’s home Tests against the West Indies in 2013. Having racked up 34,000 runs for Team India with 100 centuries, he was a thorn in the flesh for most oppositions.

Even after seven years following his retirement, Sachin is still the owner of a plethora of records. As far as his competition with Shoaib was concerned, both dominated each other equally. Even as Sachin smashed him for fours and sixes at will, Akhtar also pinned the Little Master quite a few times in his career.