'Sachin will make Moin eat his words'

Farooq Engineer and Nasser Hussain have insisted that Tendulkar was still at his peak and could not be written off.

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Farooq Engineer and retired England captain Nasser Hussain have ridiculed suggestion that Sachin Tendulkar was on the decline.

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The two former cricketers insisted that India's world record holder for most Test hundreds was still at his peak and could not be written off as yet.

"Sachin has reached his peak but certainly he is not on the decline," Engineer, who scored 2611 runs and effected 82 dismissals in 46 Tests for India, said.

Moin Khan, former Pakistani wicketkeeper, had said in his recent column that Tendulkar's skills were on a decline and that his reflexes had slowed down with age, making him apprehensive against express fast bowling.

Engineer said Tendulkar "will bounce back and make Moin Khan eat his words. Experience will only make him better."

Hussain also warned against writing off Tendulkar.

"Watch out any one who writes off Tendulkar," Hussain said on Saturday night after receiving the HSBC Life Time Achievement Award 2005 organised by Sony Entertainment Television at the Hilton Hotel.

"Sachin is one of the greatest batsmen ever to have played the game. Though he is idolised as a demi-God in India, he is human and he may have a lean period. He deserves credit for what he has done," he said.