Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid named Australia’s legendary fast bowler Glenn McGrath as the toughest pacer he faced during his career. Dravid said the right-arm pacer always challenged him on the off-stump line.
The former Indian batter said McGrath was always consistent in his line and length and hardly bowled any loose deliveries. Dravid said he faced McGrath at the peak of his career, and there was no getting away from the Australian pacer. McGrath bagged 563 Test wickets in 124 Test matches.
Dravid admitted that Wasim Akram was also tough to face but said he didn’t face the Pakistan legendary pacer at the peak of his prowess.
“As a fast bowler, it had to be Glenn McGrath. I thought McGrath was… I kind of played Wasim (Akram) and Waqar (Younis) at the back end of their careers. So it’s not kind of fair… People who played Wasim earlier say that he was in a different league, and I could imagine after seeing the videos, I can imagine… And even bowling at the back end of his career, he was damn good. But I played McGrath at his peak. He was a phenomenal bowler. He challenged my off stump more than anyone ever did. Just being able to go close to the stumps, get the bounce and just the level of fitness… He was able to come at you right through the whole day. I have played faster bowlers than him, but in terms of consistency and skill, he must be the toughest bowler I’ve faced,” Dravid said while talking to Ravichandran Ashwin on latter’s YouTube Channel.
On the other hand, Dravid picked Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan as the best spinner he faced in his career. Murali had the skills to turn the ball on any kind of surface and was known to breathe down the neck of the opposition batters.
“As a spinner, Muralitharan was the best bowler that I played against. Great skill. He had the ability to spin the ball both ways. Especially when he came round the wicket and got the doosra away from you. So, he was someone who was never tired and bowled really long spells. He kept at you and kept at you… and he is just a phenomenal spinner,” he added.
The former Sri Lankan spinner is the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with 800 scalps.
