New Delhi: Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Saturday said he enjoyed watching former India opener Virender Sehwag bat the most, while admitting that he feared facing former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje as a bowler. “It is strange but Hansie got me out on a number of occasions,” Tendulkar said during an interactive session at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. He said it was a treat to watch Sehwag bat because it was difficult to predict his next move. “With Sehwag, I didn’t know what was going to happen next. After playing with him for a while I understood what he was thinking,” Tendulkar said.
He described West Indies batsman Brian Lara as a “special package” and tennis star Roger Federer as his “favourite non-cricket hero”. He also said Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar and Australian fast bowler Brett Lee were the fastest bowlers that he faced.
On the same platform, Tendulkar suggested that India should have two pitches for each Ranji Trophy match. “I have thought a lot about neutral venues in Ranji Trophy [which is being experimented this season]. I have a suggestion which can be radical. When we go to places like Australia, New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa, we play with kookaburra balls which swings early. Think about a young Ranji batsman playing with SG Test in India and then facing difficulty overseas,” said Tendulkar. READ: Sachin Tendulkar: BCCI has done a lot for cricket in India
“Let us have the first innings on a green top with kookaburra balls which would give openers a challenge. Even bowlers will have something. Our spinners will also learn how to bowl with kookaburra on Green tops,” Tendulkar explained. READ: Sachin Tendulkar: People’s mindset has changed due to popularity of T20 cricket
His next suggestion was even more interesting. “Now let there be a pitch adjacent to the green top which would be a rank Turner. Now the second innings will be played on that track with the SG Test ball which would also help our batsmen play against quality spin bowling. We have been too focussed on playing pace in overseas conditions but we should not forget how to play spin bowling.
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