Shaun Pollock, the former South African captain and one of the revered pace bowlers in cricket history, has rated India's Sachin Tendulkar as the best batsman of his generation.
In a conversation with Sky Sports, Pollock said that Tendulkar's understanding of the game was supreme. He also revealed that often, it was the bowlers who banked upon the Indian batsman to make a mistake and give his wicket instead.
"It was how well he understood his game and how he would adjust," Pollock said.
"He talked to me once about going to Australia and understanding he couldn’t take on the short-pitched deliveries anymore so he would ramp the ball over the wicketkeeper and slip.
"There were times, especially in the subcontinent, where you thought, 'I’m not sure we can knock this guy over”. ‘We were hoping he would make a mistake, rather than had a genuine plan."
Sachin Tendulkar is the leading run-scorer in the ODI and Test format, and has also scored the most number of centuries in both the formats. Overall, the 'Master Blaster' has scored 100 international centuries - the only batsman to do so.
Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding, meanwhile, rated fellow teammate Sir Vivian Richards as the best in history.
"Viv is the best batsman I have seen against anything and everything," said Holding, who was popularly known as the 'Whispering Death'.
"He never looked intimidated. Richard Hadlee in New Zealand, Dennis Lillee in Australia, Abdul Qadir in Pakistan, Bishan Bedi in India. Ian Botham in England. He got runs against anybody and everybody."
