Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has advised Sachin Tendulkar to play on at least till 2011 World Cup to surge ahead of his closest competitors and ensure the records stayed with India.
Gavaskar said players like Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting were breathing down the neck of Tendulkar but he could make it "virtually impossible" for them to catch up with him if he continued playing till the 2011 World Cup, to be hosted by India and three other Asian countries.
Also, that way Tendulkar would "mirror" his own career which culminated with the World Cup hosted by India in 1987, the former Indian skipper said.
"Like everybody goes through a tough time, he (Tendulkar) has gone through a tough time with injuries and now he is just coming back. So obviously it has not been very easy -- that's what can happen at the international level, at the highest level," he said on the sidelines of the Castrol Awards function here last night.
"I would like to think that he will play at least for next World Cup in 2011 in India. It will pretty much mirror what happened with my career because I finished with the World Cup in India in 1987. And Sachin would be about the same age in 2011."
{{/usCountry}}"I would like to think that he will play at least for next World Cup in 2011 in India. It will pretty much mirror what happened with my career because I finished with the World Cup in India in 1987. And Sachin would be about the same age in 2011."
{{/usCountry}}"So I am hoping he will carry on till 2011 because that will mean he will score thousands more runs, he will stretch the distance between him and others and will make it virtually impossible for others to catch up with him, which at the end of the day means that the records stay with India."
Tendulkar currently holds the record of scoring most number of Test centuries at 35, one more than Gavaskar and Lara. Ponting has 33 tons to his credit.