After the emotional farewell of Sachin Tendulkar, West Indies skipper Darren Sammy on Saturday said while cricket will immensely miss Sachin Tendulkar, it is good news for the opponents who will not have to live with the fear of taking on the modern day’s greatest batsman on a cricket field anymore.
“What he brought to the cricket fraternity is incredibly the best. legends come and legends go, but cricket will surely miss Sachin...Not only in India. I don’t know how the dressing room of India would be when it is next Test match and Sachin is not in the XI.
“Opponents would be happy that they are not competing against Sachin. Cricket would surely miss the ambassador,” said Sammy at the end of the two-Test series.
“You can’t just miss one thing. Tendulkar is the all-round person. All-round cricketer, ultimate sportsman. What he has done for the sport over the last 24 years, you know as an opponent, when you hear of Sachin your shoulders tend to drop. As a teammate probably you would be so happy to be in the same team as him. World cricket, no matter which team you support, whenever Sachin is playing you have to watch,” he added.
Sammy also praised the Indian fans for paying rich tributes to Tendulkar. “He is a special man but the way fans have treated him made it more special. I don’t think any other athlete in any sport has got this type of admiration from his or her followers. India has set a benchmark as how you support your own son of the soil,” he said.