Indian great Sachin Tendulkar has been surrounded by the nostalgia as Team India is preparing to play against South Africa in an intense Test series. Sachin was in the team, which boarded on plane to become the first ever rival of South Africa post their readmission in international cricket.

Talking about their competitiveness, Tendulkar recalled some old memories and said “When we went to South Africa for the first time, it didn’t take us long to realise what was coming our way. From the first game itself we realised the level of cricket they were playing. For instance, the warm-up game that we played against the Board’s President’s XI back then was a huge eye-opener for us. Even their second and third teams showed such immense potential. At each level, they were busy raising the bar. They’ve always been a competitive side in multiple ways.”

Former Indian skipper gave a special mention to Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes, while admitting that latter was the best fielder against whom he had played. “The thing with South Africa is that they’ve always enjoyed an amazing balance. The allrounders provide an air of authority. And by allrounders, I just don’t mean guys who could bat and bowl,” he quoted to TOI.

“To me, Jonty Rhodes is the most amazing guy I’ve ever seen on a cricket field when it came to fielding. I’ve seen many good fielders over the years. Ponting, Gibbs, they were all exceptional. But Jonty was something different. Likewise, when I speak of all-rounders, look at the transition that happened from Brian McMillan to Jacques Kallis.”

The series will commence from January 5 in Cape Town, which will be the second edition of Freedom Trophy.