London: Legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne has paid rich tribute to Sachin Tendulkar terming him the "best batsman" of his generation and said that there won't be another player like the retiring Indian great in years to come.
"Sachin Tendulkar was the best batsman of my generation and it will be a privilege to be in Mumbai this week to commentate on the first two days of his final Test," Warne, who is expected to be present in Mumbai for the iconic batsman's 200th and final Test match, said,
Warne, the second highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket, had many interesting duels with the Indian legend and feels that Tendulkar was the "best in all conditions against all types of bowling" and also possessed a wonderful temperament.
"The pressure he was under from the India public was immense but he handled himself on and off the field in a way that was respected by all," Warne wrote in his column for the 'Daily Telegraph'.
Tendulkar, who is all set to become the first man to play 200 Test matches, has almost all the records in his kitty, including highest number of runs in both Tests and ODIs as well as 100 international centuries. But for Warne, Tendulkar's feats can't merely be measured by a few numbers.
"There will not be another Sachin Tendulkar. I always teach young players that cricket is not about averages even if it is a stats-based game. It is about how and when you score runs or take wickets. The great players deliver when the team is up against it and statistics do not tell you the truth about such things. Sachin is far more than a man with great numbers to boast about," Warne wrote.
Warne termed the phase between 1994 and 2000 as the best years of Tendulkar in international cricket.
"His best years were between 1994 and 2000 when he was just brilliant. He is still a very good player but it is hard to compare the Sachin of today to the man of 15 years ago."
"In the mid-1990s, he was phenomenal against the quicks and spin. He judged the length of a ball so quickly, which enabled him to have a lot more time to play the right shot or let it go."
