Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar who had an illustrious 24-year career is one of the few batters in world cricket who can play the shot straight drive effortlessly and with elegance. The right-hand batsman had supreme hand-eye coordination as he would hit the full ball straight as an arrow.

During his playing days, once anyone saw Tendulkar’s bat coming straight down and his feet moving, 9/10 times it would go for a boundary down the ground. Sachin’s straight drive was so satisfying that anyone who saw it would describe it as truly a work of art.

Indian wicket-keeper batsman Robin Uthappa who plays for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021), while talking to ESPNCricinfo about building a ‘perfect batsman’, in a split second he chose Tendulkar’s straight drive.

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“Even now, there are times when I go back and watch him play the straight drive. Just to kind of see the set-up for the ball. It's just so beautiful, so pleasing to the eyes,” Uthappa said.

The 48-year-old right-hand batsman who represented India in 200 Test matches with over 15,000 runs to his name and 463 ODIs with more than 18,000 runs under his belt has a plethora of records to his name.

The Mumbai-based batsman who has 100 international centuries to his name (49 in ODIs and 51 in Test cricket) was also the first batsman in the international arena to score a double century in One-Day cricket.

(With ESPNCricinfo inputs)