Nobody available to replace Sachin: Vengsarkar

Former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar on Thursday slammed suggestions in the media and views of another former captain Kapil Dev that Sachin Tendulkar should quit one-day cricket, saying that the master batsman needed no advice on this issue.

"There is no need to advise a legend to hang his boots when he himself, I am sure, will do so when the time is right for him to do so," said Vengsarkar, a former chief selector, in a statement issued here.

Kapil Dev had said on Wednesday that Sachin should have quit after the World Cup victory.

"In my opinion, he should have quit ODI on a high after India won the World Cup....But it's for him to decide," Kapil had said.

Vengsarkar, said that even at the age of 39, Tendulkar was as fit as anyone in the Indian team.

He also said that Indian team's bench strength was poor, and there is none to fill in the boots when great players like Tendulkar leave the scene.

"I really wonder whether India has a player of Sachin's class in its midst at the moment. Our bench strength is not at all that solid whereby we can hope to fill the void left by some great players in time to come," he said.

"Sachin may be nearing 39 years, but I strongly feel that he is as fit and as charged up, if not more, than any of the players playing for India at present. His focus, dedication, and commitment to the team is unparallelled to say the least.

"Sachin's sheer presence can mould the future generation of Indian cricketers....the Mumbai team of yesteryears was strong because we had Test players playing club and inter-office cricket regularly in Mumbai. This helped upcoming, young cricketers immensely," Vengsarkar said.

© PTI