In his new book “No Spin”, former Australian legspinner Shane Warne doesn’t get away from talking about his personal experiences about life outside the cricket field. Without a doubt, one of the best bowlers to have played the game, Warne’s biggest arch-rivals have been the batting legends Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.
While speaking to NDTV about his newly released book, the legendary legspinner said that if he needed a century on the last day of a Test match his pick would be Lara, but to bat for his life he would turn towards Sachin Tendulkar, on any day of the week.
Warne said, “Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, easily, were the best batsmen of our generation, my time. If I want someone to score a hundred on the final day of the Test series, I would send Lara. But if I want someone to bat for my life day in, day out, I would send Tendulkar, he was a class act.”
ALSO READ: Sachin Tendulkar Wishes Virat Kohli To Stay Hungry
The former Rajasthan Royals captain made his debut in a Test match against India in Sydney in 1992 and remembers dropping a caught and bowled chance of Ravi Shastri, the current head coach of the Indian team.
Former Australian spinner said, “I didn’t know half my team. I had to introduce myself to the team. I remember playing the Test match, where Ravi Shastri played beautifully.”
While Shastri went onto score a double century, a 17-year-old Tendulkar scored a magnificent century to kick-start one of the greatest individual rivalries of modern day cricket. Australia though went onto win the five-match Test series with a comfortable 4-0 scoreline.
ALSO READ: Brian Lara chooses Virat Kohli and Joe Root
Warne further elaborated, “It was a great way to start my friendship with Sachin and Ravi and it was great to play against India.”
Warne’s contests with the likes of Tendulkar and Lara are well documented. The ace spinner also had his run-ins with match-fixing. In his book, he also recalls a couple of incidents of being approached by former Pakistan cricketer Saleem Malik and a bookie in Sri Lanka.
