Lara is sheer class, I never bowled to him with any confidence: Afridi

Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has described Brian Lara as "sheer class", saying he never felt confident whenever he bowled to the West Indies legend.

Afridi and Lara locked horns only twice in Test cricket but the former Pakistan skipper said the left-handed batting great had quite an "effect" on him.

"I got him out a few times but whenever I was bowling to him I always had the feeling in the back of my mind that he is going to hit me for four the next ball. He had an effect on me. I never bowled with any confidence to him," Afridi was quoted as saying by Wisden.

The 40-year-old Afridi, who snapped 395 and 48 wickets in 398 ODIs and 27 Tests, lavished praise on Lara, saying he had a brilliant footwork.

"He was a world-class batsman who dominated the best spinners he came up against, even the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan in Sri Lanka," said Afridi.

"His footwork against spinners was brilliant and the way he batted against such bowlers was a wonderful sight. He was sheer class.