Lillee’s praise of Tendulkar reiterates the legend’s standing

Tags: Cricwaves Columns, Dennis Keith Lillee, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

Published on: Jun 27, 2012

Former Aussie fast bowler Dennis Lillee has rated Sachin Tendulkar as the greatest batsman ever to have played the game. While Tendulkar needs no recommendation over being the best, coming from one of thefinest bowlers to have ever played the game, it is indeed a statement that holds a lot of weight.

Former Aussie fast bowler Dennis Lillee has rated Sachin Tendulkar as the greatest batsman ever to have played the game. While Tendulkar needs no recommendation over being the best, coming from one of thefinest bowlers to have ever played the game, it is indeed a statement that holds a lot of weight. It is poignant to remember at this point that it was Lillee who rejected Tendulkar as a fast bowler when he came to the MRF Pace Foundation with the ambition of becoming one. In hindsight, Lillee did the Indian youngster a great favour, as it was the former fast bowler’s discouragement that was one of reasons for Tendulkar taking up battingseriously.

Dennis LilleeForget Lillee’s praise, even without that Tendulkar is statistically the best player in the world. His record speaks for itself. Over 15,000 runs in Tests and over 18,000 is ODIs at averages better than most people who have played the game. However, Tendulkar’s greatness goes beyond his numbers. One of the most astonishing aspects of his career has been his longevity, which has spanned more than two decades, and surprisinglyhe doesn’t seem tired of it yet although some may believe his time is finally up.

To put things into perspective, the Indian maestro is the only current Test cricketer to have made his debut in the 1980’s. Till recently, Tendulkar had company in Sanath Jayasuriya who, like Tendulkar, made his debut in the same year as the Indian master – 1989. However, while the Matara man has left behind his cricketer career and has moved on to shaking a leg in an Indian dance show, Tendulkar continues to have more ambitions related to the game. Although he may not be able to achieve most of those since he is well past his prime now, that fact that he has survived this long is a monstrous achievement in itself.

Along his journey, Tendulkar has been witness to a number of changes the game has seen, and has adapted his style of play accordingly, and credibly well. With the field restrictions coming into play in the early 90’s, Tendulkar was promoted from being a middle-class player to an opener, and modified his game brilliantly. In just his first match as opener in ODIs, he bludgeoned a hapless Kiwi attack to all parts of the ground. Tendulkar’s knock set up an impressive Indian win, and he has never looked back since.

With the Power Plays coming into play, Tendulkar responded by blazing his way to the first ever ODI double hundred, a feat since achieved only by Virender Sehwag. Floodlights, third umpires, DRS – the game has undergone a sea change over the last two decades. All along, Tendulkar has beenthe only constant. May be a better stint as captain would have placed Tendulkar on an even higher pedestal. His failure though only proved that he is human, a great nonetheless.

- By a Cricket Analyst

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