Aravinda better than Tendulkar?
If Sunil Gavaskar was a better batsman than Viv Richards because he mastered the fearsome West Indies bowlers who Richards never had to face, then by that logic Aravinda de Silva was better than Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, writes Nirgunan
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Reuters
If Sunil Gavaskar was a better batsman than Viv Richards because he mastered the fearsome West Indies bowlers who Richards never had to face, then by that logic Aravinda de Silva was better than Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, writes Nirgunan Tiruchelvam in the Sri Lanka daily Island.
Lara and Tendulkar never had to wallow in the darkness of playing for a minnow. So, their aggregate runs will be higher than Aravinda. But, neither of them have won the World Cup with their own bat ... Like George Headley (the Black Bradman), Aravinda was burdened by the fact that he was a maestro in the weakest team. The Sri Lankan batting in those days was vulnerable and impulsive. Aravinda stood out. He was not just a gifted batsman, but he had the gall.
Nishi Narayanan is a staff writer at ESPNcricinfo