Sachin Tendulkar
Often referred to as The Little Master or The Master Blaster, is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket.
There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.
Sachin has been sent by God to play cricket and then go back.
He is a tremendous cricketer. He is young and has got a lot of ability. He's got his own style. He has got the temperament for big cricket and I hope that he goes from strength to strength.
The more I see of him the more confused I'm getting to which is his best knock.
He has been in form longer than some of our guys have been alive.
Irrespective of the score, whenever Sachin Tendulkar comes to bat he is under pressure. The pressure comes from all those people who look up to him, who pray that he gets a century, who cheer like India has already won when he comes in to bat, and who silently troop out of the stands once he gets out. When a visiting team comes to India, they know whom the Indians look up to. While they love watching India play, there is no doubt that Tendulkar is the player they love watching most. There is a buzz when he comes in to bat and if he fails, the crowd goes quiet for the rest of the game.
To Sachin, the man we all want to be.
First and foremost, Tendulkar is an entertainer and that for me is as important factor as any fact or figure. Too often boring players have been pushed forward as great by figures alone. For sheer entertainment, he will keep cricket alive.
The more I see him, the more I want to see him.
I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two... high compactness, technique, stroke production... It all seemed to gel!
I will forever remember Sachin as one of the greatest players of the game. In fact, it is something I look forward to telling my grandchildren in the future -- that I played against one of my childhood heroes. He has been one of the greatest cricketers ever and it has been a privilege playing with him and against him. It can surely rank as one of my cherished cricketing memories.
His mind is like a computer. He stores data on bowlers and knows where they are going to pitch the ball.
When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team, Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam.
"He continues to give more than 100 per cent and his schoolboy-like enthusiasm for the game is something I envy and admire. For the team he is the best available coaching manual."
I never coached Sachin Tendulkar, I gave him gentle advice when he asked for it.
I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player.
The thing I admire most about this man is his poise. The way he moves, elegantly without ever looking out of place in any condition or company, suggests his pedigree. I remember he had once come to New Delhi in the 1990s to collect his Arjuna Award (India's highest award to its top sportspersons) and he asked me if I would attend the function. He is a very sensitive human being...
Sometimes you feel he really hasn't felt the kind of competition in the world his talent deserves. I would have loved to see him perform against top quality cricketers of the previous generation. It would really have brought out the best in him.
I think he is marvellous. I think he will fit in whatever category of cricket that has been played or will be played, from the first ball that has ever been bowled to the last ball that’s going to be. He can play in any era and at any level. I would say he’s 99.5% perfect.
In terms of technique and compactness, Tendulkar is the best.
What we (Zimbabwe) need is 10 Tendulkars.