Superlatives may be a passe for him, but little master Sachin Tendulkar now gets the 'greatest' tag from none other than skipper Sourav Ganguly, who describes him as 'any captain's dream' and 'a source of inspiration' for Indian cricket.
"I have often been asked who is the best batsman in contemporary international cricket? Some people are of the opinion that it's Brian Lara, while others mention Steve Waugh in the same breath as Sachin Tendulkar. However, in my opinion, Sachin is the greatest," Ganguly says in the foreword of a newly released book on Sachin.
Drawing comparisons with West Indian batting marvel Lara, Ganguly says, "I like the way Brian bats. His silken touch mesmerises me.
"But, unlike Sachin, Brian does not have to carry the burden of one billion people every time he goes to bat," says the skipper, who considered it an 'honour' to write about his most celebrated team-mate.
Pointing out the 'ups and downs' in Lara's career-graph, Ganguly says, "Sachin, despite being always under a microscope, is one of the most consistent performers in the game."
And the records say it all. "Look at his awesome record - 66 hundreds in international cricket, 55-plus Test average, success against each and every team and under all conditions. What else do you need to be the best."
The 'insatiable hunger for success' of the little master, in fact, acted as a constant source of inspiration for the side and made the task simpler for the captain, Ganguly says in the foreword of Ekso Kotir Bharsa (trust of a hundred crore) penned by eminent cricket-writer Debashis Dutta.
"Many people have asked me, as a captain, how I handle such a superstar. You'll be surprised to know that it is probably the easiest part of my job! His hunger for success is simply insatiable. He is always ready to deliver," the dashing southpaw, who has been leading the team since 2000, says. "What more can a captain ask for? He is any captain's dream."
Incidentally, it was Tendulkar who had recommended Ganguly's name as captain to Ajit Wadekar, the then chairman of the selection committee, for the Toronto tour in 1999.
And the skipper, arguably the most successful Indian captain so far, acknowledges that. "Another great gesture from a great man that I'll never forget."
In the course of the past three years, Ganguly says, "I have been more comfortable when he is around. His hunger for runs and success has made my job easier. It is great to know that he is always there to perform not only with the bat and ball, but also contribute to the overall team strategy, chipping in - as he often does - with important observations."
Ganguly, who still remembers his first meeting with the wonder boy from Mumbai at an under-15 camp in Indore, however, regrets, "It was only during the last phase of the England tour (in 1996) that we got to know each other closely."
"Post-England, we became close but our relationship took off once we began opening the innings together in one day internationals. Later, of course, we became one of the most successful opening pairs in the history of ODIs." Opening the innings with Sachin, Ganguly says, has been a "wonderful privilege."
"Opening the innings with him gave me a chance to enjoy his batting from the closest possible quarter. The experience of watching him bat from the other end cannot be expressed in words," he says.
Describing Sachin as a constant "source of inspiration for us - on and off the field", Ganguly fondly recalls the appreciations by the great master of his own performance in the 1996 England tour.
He staged a famous comeback after being unceremoniously dropped from the squad after the 1992 Australia tour.
"I made a comback only in 1996 on India's tour of England when I scored consecutive hundreds at Lord's and Nottingham. I remeber sharing a few hours in the middle with him.
"Later, I read somewhere what he had said about my batting in England, especially those two innings. Sachin even went to the extent of saying that I was never beaten by the English bowlers in those innings. That is indeed a great compliment from the little champion," Ganguly says in the book, published by Deep Publications in Kolkata.
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