Sachin Tendulkar Birthday: Throwback when Master Blaster picked THIS Indian teammate as his favourite

Sachin Tendulkar revealed his favourite teammate among Indian batting legends, emphasizing their exceptional talent and ability to read the game. He praised their natural gifts and how they approached batting with unique flair.

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Who is Tendulkar's favourite Indian team?

Former Team India captain and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar is celebrating his 52nd birthday today (Thursday, April 24). With a plethora of records, accolades, and achievements under his belt, Tendulkar has been regarded as one of the greatest batters to have ever graced the game of cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar played with Indian teammates, who were regarded as the batting legends, including the likes Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, and VVS Laxman. These five batters were the mainstays of Team India’s batting line-up in Test and ODI cricket. They were the backbone of not only India’s batting but also played a pivotal role in shaping the golden era of Indian cricket in the early 2000s, delivering memorable performances both at home and overseas.

After playing with four of his Indian teammates, Sachin Tendulkar picked his favourite one, who he called ‘blessed with a talent'.

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Sachin Tendulkar’s favourite Indian teammate

In 2023, former India cricketer and chief selector MSK Prasad narrated a conversation from a book ‘Sachin@50: Celebrating a Maestro’ between him, VVS Laxman, and Sachin Tendulkar on Team India’s tour of Australia in 1999-2000. Prasad, who was part of the Indian team for the Australia tour, picked Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and Laxman. Tendulkar, who was the captain of the side, declared VVS Laxman as his favourite player.

"If you don't smile and show your teeth, I'll say you are my favourite player," Tendulkar told ever smiling Laxman.

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Why VVS Laxman?

After declaring VVS Laxman as his favourite player, Tendulkar elaborated why he had chosen stylish middle-order batter as his pick for favourite player among the likes Sourav Ganguly and Rahul. He stated that Laxman was blessed with a lot of talent while praising his ability to see the ball in a split second.

“You are blessed with so much talent. You can see the ball a split second earlier than me. God has given you exceptional talent which you are not able to understand,”

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Tendulkar lauds Laxman’s batting talent

Further speaking on VVS Laxman’s batting, Sachin Tendulkar lauded his talent, stating that the middle-order batter adapted to the conditions quickly by batting straightway with a fourth gear, i.e. loft.

"I have four gears in my batting--defence, push, drive and loft. I understand the conditions and use my logic and perform accordingly. You have so much talent that you can straightway bat on fourth gear. You see the ball so early that you don't worry about the conditions.” Tendulkar

"That way, sometimes you click, and sometimes you fail. The day you realise the value of the first three gears, you will become a legend of the game," he added.

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Tendulkar-Laxman partnership in Tests

Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman formed a formidable partnership in Tests, scoring 3523 runs, including 9 centuries and 19 fifties, at an average 51.09 in 73 matches. Their highest partnership stand came against Australia in the Sydney Test, where they formed a 353-run stand for the fourth wicket to lift Team India from 194/3 to 547/4. Laxman played an innings of 178 off 298 balls, while Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 241 off 436 balls. Tendulkar and Laxman’s partnership in the Sydney Test was regarded as one of the finest and most resilient batting displays in overseas Test cricket.