Sachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as one of the greatest batters of all time.
During his illustrious career spanning 24 years, Tendulkar earned praise and received accolades from different quarters. However, the compliment that Sachin got from the legendary Sir Don Bradman in the year 1997 takes the cake.
The Australian great was so impressed with Tendulkar’s technique that he went on to say, "I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two... his compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel."
26 years later, Tendulkar has opened up on Bradman's iconic words, saying that for a youngster like him, it was worth its weight in 'gold'. However, the Indian batting maestro refrained from talking about the similarities Bradman touched upon.
"That's a tough question to answer. That's a massive statement. I was only 22 then - 22 or 23. And for a 22 - or 23-year-old professional athlete to hear something like that was its worth in gold. It wouldn't be right for me to speak about what the similarities and all that. I would leave it to his family," he said in ABC Australia's documentary 'Bradman and Tendulkar – The untold story of two of cricket's giants.
Having made his debut in 1989, Sachin Tendulkar has established himself as one of the leading stars in world cricket. But Bradman’s statement motivated him to excel greater heights.
"From my side, I thought the statement came at a time where I felt 'Wow! I need to push myself harder'. I think it's the best tonic one can get. To feel that you are being noticed; your game is being appreciated, it came at the right time," Tendulkar added.