Sachin Tendulkar on Monday paid tribute to the leadership skills of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, calling the World Cup-winning captain the best he had played under in close to 22 years of international cricket.
“He is the best captain I have played under. He is very sharp and always alert. He reads the situation well and is open to sharing ideas,” Tendulkar told reporters on the occasion of Gudi Padwa (Maharashtrian New Year) here.
“He always has discussions with bowlers, batsmen and senior players separately. One more good thing is he is always calm and never shows his frustration. These are some of the human qualities which have made him such a good captain,” said the 37-year-old.
Speaking on departing coach Gary Kirsten, the maestro said he was keen that the South African stay on in the post. “I want Gary to continue but I understand he has got commitments and he must have thought about this before the tournament. I respect his decision,” Tendulkar said.
“It has been a pleasure to work with him. He worked as hard as the players, he was like a bowling machine, bowling 200-300 balls to the batsmen. It has always been a fabulous experience to rub shoulders with him. We will miss him,” he added.
Tendulkar also found himself climbing one place in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen to be placed ninth though India are still second in the team ratings despite having won the World Cup.
Tendulkar said the victory lap after India won the title had been a deeply moving moment. “I became extremely emotional and those were happy tears. It has never happened in my life. It was truly an amazing experience to do the lap,” he said. “I was not expecting that and I was taken by pleasant surprise. I want to thank all my teammates for that gesture. What a way to end the World Cup. It was an overwhelming experience,” added Tendulkar.
The maestro was 10 when Team India won the 1983 World Cup and though he said that he was enjoying the moment, for him the bigger memory was when he made it to the Indian team and Sunil Gavaskar introduced him to the team, which he recalled had been an “amazing experience”.
He reiterated that winning the World Cup was the biggest day of his life. “My biggest day was April 2, 2011. We had to pinch one another that it was actually happening in our life. I thank God for such a day, it was by his grace.”