{"id":3035,"date":"2026-10-29T09:38:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T09:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/10\/29\/waqar-younis-backs-indian-stars-over-pakistani-legends\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T09:38:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T09:38:38","slug":"waqar-younis-backs-indian-stars-over-pakistani-legends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/10\/29\/waqar-younis-backs-indian-stars-over-pakistani-legends\/","title":{"rendered":"Waqar Younis backs Indian stars over Pakistani legends in rapid\u2011fire podcast poll"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"9fece8afa224fd09e54b043d0febfb58\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- NR ATF -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8898941184964366\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"4839033563\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis, a veteran who faced India many times during his playing career, appeared as a guest on the Shubhankar Mishra Podcast and was asked to make a series of head\u2011to\u2011head selections between Indian and Pakistani cricket icons. In a rapid\u2011fire round, Younis favoured Indian legends in the majority of match\u2011ups, naming only one Pakistani player, Saeed Anwar, among his picks.<\/p>\n<h2>Younis&#8217; rapid\u2011fire choices<\/h2>\n<p>The questionnaire began with a classic batting duel: Sachin Tendulkar versus Inzamam\u2011ul\u2011Haq. Younis responded without hesitation, \u201cSachin Tendulkar.\u201d He then moved to the modern era, pitting Virat\u202fKohli against Babar\u202fAzam, and again chose the Indian side, answering simply \u201cVirat\u202fKohli.\u201d When the discussion shifted to pace bowling, Younis favoured Jasprit\u202fBumrah over Pakistan\u2019s emerging fast bowler Shaheen\u202fAfridi.<\/p>\n<p>Continuing the sequence, Younis was presented with the opening pair of Virender\u202fSehwag and Saeed\u202fAnwar. This time he broke his Indian\u2011only streak, selecting the Pakistani legend \u201cSaeed\u202fAnwar.\u201d The next comparison paired Rahul\u202fDravid with Younis\u202fKhan, and Younis opted for the Indian stalwart \u201cRahul\u202fDravid.\u201d Finally, the former captain was asked to choose between finishers MS\u202fDhoni and Javed\u202fMiandad. Younis chose the Indian captain, stating, \u201cI guess MS\u202fDhoni ne jyada matches jitaye hain\u2026 and finishing mein. Javed bhai ne bhi kiye hain, but I will pick Dhoni.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Why Dhoni topped the finishers<\/h2>\n<p>When pressed for a rationale behind his Dhoni selection, Younis highlighted the Indian wicket\u2011keeper\u2011captain\u2019s record in closing out games. He noted that Dhoni had secured more victories in his career and was renowned for finishing matches, a quality he felt outweighed Miandad\u2019s own contributions in that specific role. The former Pakistan captain\u2019s comment underscored a respect for Dhoni\u2019s reputation as a finisher, even as he acknowledged Miandad\u2019s achievements.<\/p>\n<h2>Further Indian preferences and a lone Pakistani pick<\/h2>\n<p>Beyond the initial set, Younis continued to side with Indian players. He chose Rohit\u202fSharma over Pakistan\u2019s Fakhar\u202fZaman, VVS\u202fLaxman over Misbah\u2011ul\u2011Haq, and Mohammed\u202fShami over Mohammad\u202fAmir. Each answer was delivered in the same concise style, reflecting his clear preference for the Indian representatives in those particular match\u2011ups.<\/p>\n<p>The only Pakistani cricketer to receive Younis\u2019s endorsement in the rapid\u2011fire round was Saeed\u202fAnwar, who was selected over Virender\u202fSehwag. This solitary nod to a Pakistani player highlighted the overall tilt of Younis\u2019s selections toward his former rivals.<\/p>\n<h2>Emerging talents left unchosen<\/h2>\n<p>The podcast also featured a question about two young prospects: India\u2019s 15\u2011year\u2011old Vaibhav\u202fSooryavanshi and Pakistan\u2019s 20\u2011year\u2011old Sameer\u202fMinhas. Younis declined to choose, explaining, \u201cunko maine itna dekha nahi hai,\u201d indicating that he had not watched either player enough to form an opinion.<\/p>\n<p>Additional context about Sooryavanshi was provided during the discussion. The teenager had been thrust into the spotlight during India\u2019s ongoing T20I series against New\u202fZealand. After being drafted into the playing XI for the second T20I due to Ishan\u202fKishan\u2019s injury, he managed four runs. He rebounded in the third T20I, blasting 45 runs from 19 balls, hitting four sixes and four fours, and helping India chase a target of 199 to secure a six\u2011wicket victory. That win gave India a 3\u20110 lead in the five\u2011match series.<\/p>\n<h2>Implications and upcoming series<\/h2>\n<p>Younis\u2019s selections, while personal preferences, arrived at a time when Indian cricket is gearing up for a new challenge. The focus is shifting to a five\u2011match One Day International (ODI) series against New\u202fZealand, followed by two Test matches. Virat\u202fKohli, one of the players Younis endorsed, is slated to feature in the ODI series that kicks off in Auckland on November\u202f4. Subsequent matches are scheduled for Wellington, Hamilton and Mount\u202fMaunganui.<\/p>\n<p>The rapid\u2011fire round, though informal, offers a glimpse into how a former Pakistani great perceives the current generation of cricketers across the subcontinent. Younis\u2019s inclination toward Indian legends\u2014Tendulkar, Kohli, Dhoni, Sharma, Laxman and Shami\u2014suggests a respect for the impact those players have had on the game, while his lone Pakistani endorsement of Saeed\u202fAnwar acknowledges the enduring legacy of that former opener.<\/p>\n<p>As the cricketing calendar moves forward, the dialogue sparked by Younis\u2019s choices may fuel further debates among fans of both nations, especially as the upcoming ODI series provides a fresh arena for the players he praised to showcase their skills on the international stage.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis chose Indian greats over Pakistani icons in a rapid\u2011fire round on the Shubhankar Mishra Podcast, selecting only Saeed Anwar for Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1778,3404,3405,2166,3403],"class_list":["post-3035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-cricket","tag-india-pakistan","tag-player-comparisons","tag-t20i","tag-waqar-younis","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}