Sunil Gavaskar is revered in the West Indies. Even a Calypso was penned in his honour. Equally celebrated in the Caribbean is Sachin Tendulkar, according to West Indies great and former captain Richie Richardson.
“Sachin is right up there,” Richardson, manager of the West Indies team that lost both the Tests in the Tendulkar farewell series, told dna. “People in the Caribbean regard Sachin highly. When Gavaskar played, he was a king in the Caribbean. Sachin is always a massive king in the Caribbean. The Caribbean people love cricket, admire, love and respect people who have performed well. Sachin is a hero and the entire Caribbean is celebrating his achievements as well.”
The 51-year-old hard-hitting batsman of yesteryear, Richardson, played against Tendulkar in ODIs. Paying rich tributes to Tendulkar, Richardson said: “It is a remarkable career that Sachin has had. To have played at the highest level and to perform so highly for 24 years is not easy. And he has done so exemplary.
“There are not enough words to describe the contribution he has made to Indian, and world, cricket. I had no doubt when I first saw Sachin, I knew that he will become great. The greatest thing I admire about Sachin is that he has achieved so much, yet he remains so humble. He is such a nice person, nothing has gone to his head, he’s always smiling, always friendly, loves people and to me that is the sign of a remarkable human being.”
Richardson spoke of his own veteran batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who made his 150th Test appearance at the Wankhede last week. “Shiv is very similar to Sachin in many ways,” Richardson said. “To have played that long, I don’t know where they get that appetite from. After 10 years, I was tired. You have to give these guys so much credit. To be able to work so hard day in day out, the commitment, the hard work, the dedication, the rigours of tours and travelling, and still to be available to the fans and media, it is not easy.
“These guys are very very special. They deserve the best. We are also celebrating Shiv’s 150th match. He deserves it and I also think Shiv will go on to play 200 Tests. He is still fit, still has tremendous appetite for the game, still loves to bat. When you have these special persons, you have to give them what they deserve.”
The Antiguan credited both Tendulkar and Chanderpaul for admirably embracing the changes the game has undergone since they made their debut and still stay on top. “Great players can adapt to the changes. Sachin and Shiv have done that tremendously. Credit to them,” he said.
Richardson played in an era when the West Indies dominated world cricket. Does it hurt him to see his team going down frequently without a fight?
“The world is a round place. We can’t expect to be on top all the time,” he said. “That’s the fact of life. There have been things in the past that have hurt me. Nobody wants to be at the bottom. What we have to do now is to get back to where were we were once. We’ve seen some good strides within the team, within the set-up. We just need to continue to work hard, continue to improve and gradually climb up the ladder.”
guru.krishnan@dnaindia.net
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