Wellington, July 12: Records have tumbled with every stroke of his bat in the 20-year-long career and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar is still regarded as the most trustworthy batsman in the contemoporary time.
Former New Zealand players rated their choices of batsmen whom they trust the most when it comes to playing Test cricket and although, there were a few names as well, Tendulkar’s experience put him in the lead.
John Morris, former New Zealand all-rounder, believes while there are a number of batsmen who may look far more attractive but Tendulkar takes the edge with his wide range of shots and was still capable of taking the game away from even the best of opposition.
”I’d still go with Sachin Tendulkar. He is still the most capable batsman in the world at staying in, which is the most important thing obviously. He has the full array of shots too, though he might not play them as freely as he once did.
”I like Tendulkar because there are guys out there brilliant on certain types of surfaces but he is adept at playing on anything.
Slow, bouncy, turning, whatever – he covers the field on all of them. I’d still back him ahead of everybody, even at the age of 36.
”I’ve always liked Jacques Kallis and the way he goes about his work but part of that is because he bowls too. Kevin Pietersen has the most fantastic temperament that enables him to overcome technical shortcomings but I’d still be comfortable with my choice of Tendulkar,” Morris said.
Dipak Patel, who led New Zealand’s spin hopes for many years, said openers like Grame Smith and Gautam Gambhir were emerging as great stars but when asked to put his money on, the former Kiwi off-spinner couldn’t think of anyone but for Tendulkar.
”I really like Gautam Gambhir and Graeme Smith at the moment but in the end, if they were batting for my life, I couldn’t go past Sachin Tendulkar. ”He’s got the experience, the sheer weight of runs and he has the best allround game. He can bat for survival and he can bat to force wins. He’s got a big-match temperament and he has scored runs all around the world.
”Gambhir is the new kid on the block but I would put Smith in just behind Tendulkar. He has a wonderful track record of getting through the new ball. Every game he is out there facing the music and is just a terrific competitor,” Patel was quoted as saying by ‘New Zealand Herald’.
However, Rahul Dravid’s impacable technique could also not be ingnored when the and former Kiwi pacer Gavin Larsen had a few names in his list but rated the Indian ‘Wall’ ahead of many because of his sheer mental strength.
”There’d be a few on my shortlist. Shiv Chanderpaul would make it, Ricky Ponting, Mr Cricket Mike Hussey. Graeme Smith would be there, as would Mohammad Yousuf and Sachin Tendulkar but the name I keep coming back to is Rahul Dravid.
”He (Dravid) is technically correct, perhaps the best technician in the game, he has scored runs in all conditions, he’s dogged and he’s incredibly mentally strong. He can bat for long periods of time without scoring and it never seems to get him down,” he opined.
Meanwhile, former Kiwi all-rounder Craig McMillan could not think of any names besides Dravid and Sri Lankan captain Kumara Sangakkara.
”It wouldn’t be anybody in the New Zealand team unfortunately.
I’d struggle to go past guys like Rahul Dravid and Kumar Sangakkara.
In the end, I’d take Sangakkara. ”With Dravid, you know what you’re going to get but Sangakkara is probably the most adaptable batsman playing cricket at the moment. He can bat for long periods of time but he also has a great record at one-day and Twenty20 cricket which shows he can play shots. He’s just a very, very good player,” McMillan said.
——Agencies