Waqar Younis overwhelmingly favored Indian players over his Pakistani compatriots across multiple direct comparisons, selecting Saeed Anwar as his sole national pick over Virender Sehwag. He specifically credited MS Dhoni's match-winning longevity and finishing capabilities as the primary factor when rating him above Javed Miandad. Waqar refrained from evaluating emerging talents Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Sameer Minhas due to a lack of viewing time. Meanwhile, Sooryavanshi recently aided India in an ongoing T20I series against New Zealand by scoring 45 runs off 19 balls.
Key points
Experienced match finishing and career victories led Waqar to rank MS Dhoni ahead of Jave…: Experienced match finishing and career victories led Waqar to rank MS Dhoni ahead of Javed Miandad.
The former Pakistan captain declined to judge younger prospects like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi…: The former Pakistan captain declined to judge younger prospects like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Sameer Minhas without sufficient observation.
India is scheduled to begin a five-match ODI series in Auckland on November 4 featuring V…: India is scheduled to begin a five-match ODI series in Auckland on November 4 featuring Virat Kohli.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Former Pakistan fast bowler
Waqar Younis has made some interesting choices while picking between Indian and Pakistani cricket stars. In a rapid-fire round, he backed Indian greats in most of the comparisons and picked only one Pakistan player in his combined India-Pakistan XI.
Waqar, who played against India many times during his career, was recently a guest on the Shubhankar Mishra Podcast. He was asked to choose between some of the biggest names in cricket from the two countries.
The former Pakistan captain's choices included
Sachin Tendulkar over
Inzamam-ul-Haq, Virat Kohli over Babar Azam and MS Dhoni over Javed Miandad.
Waqar Younis picks Sachin, Kohli and Dhoni
Waqar was first asked to choose between batting legends Sachin Tendulkar and Inzamam-ul-Haq. He picked the former India captain.
When asked to choose between Kohli and Babar, Waqar again went with the Indian star. He also preferred Jasprit Bumrah over Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi.
Here is how the rapid-fire round went:Q: Sachin Tendulkar or Inzamam-ul-Haq?
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