Cricket News: Sachin Tendulkar is Graeme Smith’s inspiration
The South African captain has termed Sachin Tendulkar as an inspiration for him and said that the legendary cricketer has been a great ambassador of the sport. Smith stated that watching the master blaster play, made him resolute, to play at the highest
level and perform for his country.
After decades of isolation form International cricket, South Africa finally got the status back to compete against the world, Sachin Tendulkar visited the country for his first series. Graeme Smith was just an eleven-year-old kid, back then and watching
Tendulkar, was an inspiration for him. Smith will be captaining the South African team in the series against India, starting from 16th December. This may be the last series that Tendulkar will feature in, against South Africa, in their backyard.
Praising Tendulkar, smith stated,
“As a youngster I watched the games and that’s where all my dreams started. You see the players like Tendulkar play and you think that I want to be like that one day, and here we are.”
Smith also praised the coach of the Indian team, Gary Kirsten. He alleged that he has played for South Africa and has made his mark with his outstanding performances.
Smith quoted,
“Kirsten is a guy that I respect a hell of a lot and I am sure that the Indian team itself respects him. That respect will also go onto the field. It’s about playing well for South Africa, but that respect will always be there.”
The South African team will be looking to dominate the Indian team, in their home series and they also claim that they have prepared well for the series. India has a poor record in South Africa and being the number one side of the world, in Test cricket,
it will put added pressure on the side. The Indian team is confident of performing well in South Africa, as they have played the Champions League in the country. Dhoni managed to lead his team to victory in the tournament.
Even though the players have respect for each other, the teams will give a tough competition to each other and the South African bowlers will go hard at Tendulkar, trying to make his tour difficult, performance wise.