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Tendulkar pays tribute to Warne
The Indian batsman paid tribute to the Test wicket record holder saying he has become a role model for kids aspiring to be cricketers.
Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar paid tribute to Test wicket record holder Shane Warne saying the Australian has become a role model for many kids aspiring to be cricket players.
"Warne has done marvelous things for cricket and spin bowling," Tendulkar was quoted saying after the leg-spinner claimed his 533rd wicket on Friday during the second Test against India to claim the outright record.
"He's got kids interested in spin bowling. You get plenty of guys trying to copy him," a Mumbai daily quoted Tendulkar.
Warne overtook Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan's tally of 532 when he dismissed India's Irfan Pathan in Chennai.
An elbow injury has forced Tendulkar to sit out the first two matches of the ongoing Test series between India and Australia.
Tendulkar, considered one of world's best batsmen, had punished Warne's bowling when the Australian made his debut in a Test match against India at Sydney in 1991-92.
At the time Tendulkar had said he didn't think much of Warne.
"I did not think he was a world class bowler then. He could spin the ball and had the zip off the wicket. He definitely had a lot of potential," Tendulkar said, recalling the Sydney Test, where he scored a double-century.
But today the Indian batting star has "a lot of respect" for Warne and thinks he is "a great bowler."
"You keep telling yourself that you are not going to take it easy because every now and then he produces a wicket-taking ball," Tendulkar said.
