JEDDAH, 25 June — Sachin Tendulkar belongs to a class of his own and Steve Waugh does not belong to that class, said Salahuddin Ahmed alias “Sallu” yesterday.
Reacting to a statement by Indian great Sunil Gavaskar that Waugh was a better batsman than Tendulkar, Sallu said he was surprised by Gavaskar’s statement.
“I consider Gavaskar, the professor of cricket and rate him very highly for his technique. But in this case I think there is some matter other than cricket and he has been overcome by emotional considerations,” Sallu added.
Sallu, a former chairman of Pakistan national selection committee, is here to perform Umrah and pray at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, said he was highly disapponited with the Pakistani team’s performance in the final against Australia at Lord’s.
“There are generally three excuses in cricket ? the wicket, weather and the umpires. It was a good batting track. The weather was fine and the umpires were OK except for the deicision against Inzamam. So there was no excuse and on a wicket like that Pakistan should have scored not less than 300. But even that would have been only a fighting score,” Sallu said.
“In the past, we have lost to Australia twice after scoring over 300 runs. I remember one instance two years ago at the Qaddafi Stadium when Pakistan lost to Australia after scoring 314 runs,” he added.
“Australians are professionals of professionals. And they have proved it time and again,” he added.
Sallu said after a long time, the Pakistani team was playing like a team. “Waqar Younis, Inzamam, Youhanna and Rashid Latif were doing very well. Latif kept well but he also shone as a bastman and his improvisation of shots was fantastic,” he said.
Sallu singled out Saqlain for praise. “He is the only spinner in the world who is asked to bowl the last over in a one-day match. When he bowled Caddick in the last over, that gave Pakistan victory. Also, an instance which stands out is the way he had Damien Martyn caught in the slip as the batsman got totally foxed by the mystery ball that turned the other way,” Sallu said.
About coach Richard Pybus, Salllu said he was merely a trainer and not qualified to coach a top team like Pakistan. “He was the coach in the World Cup 1999 and even now, and on both occasion the way the team lost, did him no credit. The PCB should rethink the position of the coach. I feel Geoff Boycott will be a much better choice as Pakistan coach,” he said.
About crowd disturbances during the series in England, Sallu said it was painful that unruly spectators did not allow the previous match to finish and on the final day, Bevan was hit by a full beer-can during the awarding ceremony.
“It gives a bad name to the entire Asian population because of a few misguided people. If we compare this with the crowd behavior in Sharjah, we find that people from the same Asian countries are much better behaved even though there may be just one cop on duty with a dog,” he added.
He suggested that strict rules should be framed so that the cricket atmosphere was not spoilt.
Sallu said it was good for the game that the Indian board had agreed to play against Pakistan in the Asain Test Championship. “Cricket in Asia will get a boost by this and, of course, we will find out which is the best team in Asia,” he said.
Sallu said he hoped cricket in Saudi Arabia will prosper in the years to come. “I am happy that the Saudi Cricket Board has applied to the International Cricket Council for affiliation and will start taking part in international events in the near future. I wish them all the best,” he added.
All in all, the Pakistan cricket team, under the chairmanship of Gen. Tauqir Zia, did their job well against England in the Test series and in the triangular series despite Australia’s awesome performance, said Sallu.
“The boys gelled well and have regained their fighting spirit. This had made Gen. Zia very happy,” said Sallu.
