Sachin Tendulkar's absence from ODIs unfortunate, feels Brett Lee

Admiring Sachin Tendulkar for his "clockwork-like" mannerisms on the field, retired Australian pacer Brett Lee rued that the veteran Indian batsman will not been seen in the One-Day arena.

"Obviously, all good things at some stage must come to an end. Sachin is an absolute legend. He's been around for so long now and unfortunately we won't see Sachin playing One-Day cricket anymore," Lee said in a statement.

"He (Tendulkar) had an aura about him as well and you could tell he was a great player. Every time Sachin went out to bat he looked the part. He's always well dressed and prepared. He has his mannerisms at the crease, things every player does to get in a mindset and it's like clockwork," said Lee who has had some absorbing duels with Tendulkar in his playing days.

"He loves taking the ball on. He takes it personal, he wants to be the person who will go out there and do the job for his team, whether it is to set up or seal a win."

Lee said that in his international career Brian Lara was the only player, other than Tendulkar, who had pushed him hard to get the wicket.

"He (Tendulkar) is just so naturally gifted at what he can do. It's a nice stat to know that I've got him out nine times in ODIs. I think that when I played against Tendulkar I always gave a little bit extra if that was possible. I always find myself the best when I'm playing against the best. I think that brings out the best in me.

"Playing against him was a good test of your skills.

Lara is probably the only other guy in world cricket that pushed me like Tendulkar."

Lee said that it would be a sad day for the game when Tendulkar decides to end his international career by quitting Test cricket.

"I'm not sure when the actual day will come but hes obviously moved away from one day cricket now. Hopefully he enjoys the time off with his family and I guess when the time does come for him to move on from Test Cricket, it'll be a sad day for cricket."

© PTI