Barry heaps praise on Sachin, wishes to play golf with him

Chennai: When Sachin Tendulkar was mesmerising cricket enthusiasts across the globe with his magical stroke-play, former South African great Barry Richards, a doyen in his own right, was keeping the television viewers enthralled with his eloquent words from the commentary box. The 68-yearold legendary cricketer opens up to Deccan Chronicle in a candid interview on Tendulkar.

EXCERPTS: On Sachin's retirement: It is a sad moment. When Bradman, Vivian Richards, Lara all retired it was a big loss to cricket.
It was Sachin's decision to quit and at 40 years of age he still is going strong. He has done a stupendous job over the past two decades for his country .

You have said 'Sachin is cricket's god'. What it means to you to see cricket without him?

Cricket will stand the test of time regardless of who comes and goes. When a great cricketer departs someone else will capture the imagination of the cricketing fraternity. Who knows maybe a Rohit Sharma or someone else might be that! If you were to liken Sachin to any other sportsperson who would it be and why? In the context, South Americans would love Lionel Messi, Germans would hail Sebastian Vettel and likewise Indians treat Sachin as God. So there can't be comparisons as such. Every nation has its own heroes.

If Sachin had been born in your era would he have scored hundred centuries?

I don't think he would have scored so many . The reason being there wasn't much cricket played during my days. One wouldn't imagine a cricketer to play 200 Tests during my time.

Who do you think would eclipse Sachin's feat?

I'm sure that someone will break the barrier. But it might take a lot of time to do it. Once 7000 runs seemed huge, then 10,000 looked untouchable, now Sachin has set a new mark. Someone in the future would eclipse that and the cycle would go on.

What difference you see in the Sachin of the '90s and now?

His game has changed with age. The dashing batsman has changed to more of a smart batsman who could pile on huge runs.

Speciality of Sachin's batting: His ability to find the gaps at will is phenomenal. I have seen that at Sharjah and it was a visual treat. The way he manoeuvred the ball through the ring of fielders with such precision makes him a genius.

Is Sachin the greatest ever?

Don Bradman is the greatest. His average is unbelievable. Maybe after Bradman, Sachin leads the rest of the pack.

Little Master and Master Blaster have become a cliché. Suggest the world a new one?

I love the tag Little Master. It is his trademark and it shall remain forever.

Has your friend and the late Tony Greig ever spoken to you about Sachin: We didn't speak much about cricket off the field because we often were commentating. So our discussions revolved around the past life. However, I can recall one instance when Tony said to me that Sachin reminds him of Vivian Richards and that he rates him on par with some of the greats of our generation.

Any memorable moment you shared with Sachin: As many would know Sachin is a man of few words. Once when we both met, he spoke about his Ferrari car. He said that he was disappointed in not being able to drive his car as often as he would have liked.

What role do you see Sachin playing in the future?

As of now I just wish him best of luck for his future. My advice for him is that he needs to take a break from cricket. No coaching or other stuff. Be with family and find what his interest is other than cricket. I wish he comes to my place and plays golf with me. I would be happy if he does that.

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