Batting legend Viv Richards hails the little master Sachin Tendulkar as the maximum ever batsman. Batting legend Viv Richards has not seen the Great Sir Donald Bradman but of all those he has seen his equal citizen Brian Lara but none has been better than iconic Indian, Sachin Tendulkar.
I didn't see Don but to me, in all my years linked with the game, I haven't seen a better batsman than Sachin Tendulkar, said Richards in a eulogy to the little man, who openly professes to have idolized him while rising up.If there is a better batsman than Sachin then he hasn't arrived yet, he added.
In one stroke, Richards put Sachin Tendulkar in a base above his generation such as Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis and even to the folklore such as Sunil Gavaskar and Javed Miandad of his era. As for Bradman, his vocation lasted 20 years counting a few years disrupted by Second World War. Tendulkar is previously in his 22nd year of international cricket. Bradman scored 29 centuries in 52 Tests.
The Little Master is one short of a century of centuries in all forms of international cricket.To me the most remarkable thing about Tendulkar is how he has completed the full cycle of his cricketing career, overcome, pain, agony, failures, fatigue, injuries and yet continuing tirelessly till the point the circle is total, Richards said.He is the complete package, the cricketer I respect more than anyone else, he added.
Richards defended Tendulkar's decision to skip the complete West Indies tour.He is 37 and not getting any younger. You have got to respect him for his choice,said Richards as he turned up for a Johnny Walker promotional event at Queen's Park Oval on Thursday afternoon.He has done sufficient to decide what is best for him. He knows his commitments and the move toward he must take for the rest of his vocation, the legend added.
Richards though never stops talk about about the fact that how much of Tendulkar presence could have done to inspire the young cricketers of the Caribbean.It would have been fantastic for the young boys to just watch him in action, how he prepares his innings, the way he goes about structure his knock, conquer circumstances and opponents, said Richards.It could have been an priceless knowledge for our young batsmen, he added.
Richards said he feels modest by the respect and love he still generates within the cricket community of India.The other day, I was on a flight to London and Gambhir was with me. I was really touched by his curiosity and the eagerness he had to know about batting. It's passion such as this which sets men like him apart. I was really frightened,his said. It is ironical though that West Indies Cricket Board isn't quite tending to take advantage of their own legend to get better the normal of cricket in the Caribbean.