India v Pakistan: Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman ever to play cricket

It may be sacrilegious to say this, especially to Australians, but Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman who ever took guard.

His versatility, longevity and productivity are so far ahead of his closest rival in the game. Just as Don Bradman’s Test average of 99.94 was more than 50 per cent better than anyone else, so Tendulkar’s tally of 99 international hundreds is similarly out of reach of his nearest competitor, Ricky Ponting, who has 69.

When you factor in Tendulkar’s prowess in all countries and all conditions – averaging around 50 in every major country apart from Pakistan – and the burden of expectation of a billion people, he must be regarded as the best ever. 

Bradman was extraordinary, but he only ever played in Australia and England. Bradman watched Tendulkar bat, famously saying that the way he fashioned runs reminded him of himself. There are similarities – the short stature, the stillness at the crease, the compactness, the control, the total insatiability. 

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