Two of the finest batters of all time, India great Sachin Tendulkar and West Indies legend Brian Lara broke several records during their playing days, and many of them still stand till date. While Tendulkar is the all-time leading run-scorer in both Tests (15,921) and ODIs (18,426), Lara holds the record for the highest score by a batter in Tests (400) and First Class Cricket (501). While Lara has always been a huge admirer of Tendulkar, and vice-versa, the former West Indies has named a player who he thinks was even more naturally gifted than him and the ‘Master Blaster’.

Lara said that in terms for raw talent, his former teammate Carl Hooper was the best player he has ever seen.

“Carl was easily one of the best players I’ve ever seen. I would say that not even Tendulkar and myself would come close to that talent. Separate Carl’s career from playing to captaining and his numbers are very different. As a captain he averaged near to 50, so he enjoyed the responsibility. It’s sad that only as a captain did he fulfil his true potential,” Lara wrote in his new book, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Lara even mentioned that legendary West Indies batter Vivian Richard loved Hooper than him, even though he didn’t want either to be better than him.

Now listen, it needs to be said that Viv Richards never cried down on a person because he didn’t want them to be great like him. His sternness was who he was, but he never wanted you not to do well. It was just how he was. And look, Viv loved Carl. Much more than he loved me, that’s for sure. But the way Viv shows love didn’t resonate with Carl.

Recently, Lara picked two players each from England and India who can break his record of 400 runs in a Test innings.

“There were players in my time who challenged, or at least went past the 300 mark – Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sanath Jayasuriya. They were pretty much aggressive players,” Lara told The Daily Mail.

“How many aggressive players do you have playing today? Especially in the England team. Zak Crawley and Harry Brook. Maybe in the Indian team? Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill. If they find the right situation, the records could be broken – both of them,” he added.

Former Indian cricket team spinner Harbhajan Singh did not include both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma while picking the top three batters in the world. The top pick for the cricketer, who won the 2007 T20 World Cup as well as the 2011 ODI World Cup, was the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. He also named former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis and West Indies great Brian Lara as his other two options. In a video that has gone viral on social media, Harbhajan was asked to choose the top three batters in the world and he went for three legendary options rather than any player who are currently playing the game.

Former Indian cricket team batter Robin Uthappa also did not include Rohit and Virat as he went with Sir Vivian Richards, Tendulkar and Lara as his three options.

Former Australia captain Aaron Finch also picked Tendulkar and Lara with his third choice being the legendary Australia cricket team captain Ricky Ponting.

“Obviously, Sachin, the record that he had over… Ricky Ponting for the impact that he had on Australian cricket, Brian Lara, just the sheer entertaining value,” Finch said.

However, former India all-rounder Suresh Raina included both Rohit and Virat in his Top 3 along with England cricketer Joe Root.

Earlier, Harbhajan Singh congratulated Gautam Gambhir on his new innings as the Team India head coach.

“I am sure that your experience, energy, passion, aggression and talent will steer the team on the path of excellence. My best wishes to you. Good luck buddy,” wrote Harbhajan.

Anil Kumble commented: “Congratulations Gautam Gambhir. Wishing you the best!” Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa who was his opening partner in their 2014-IPL title winning campaign, also chipped in with a congratulatory message.

“Congratulations bro!! Can’t wait to see the men’s team flourish under your able guidance. Wishing you the best for the new role. Lots of love!!” Uthappa posted on X.

Test stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara wrote, “Congratulations and best wishes Gauti bhai!”

(With PTI inputs)

Ahead of India’s 2024 ICC T20 World Cup Super Eights game against Bangladesh, Former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara backed the opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to come good during the game, saying that Bangladesh would not be much of a threat and Men in Blue will be 100 for no loss during the game. India will be taking on Bangladesh in their Super Eights clash at Antigua’s Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Saturday. India is in second place in Group 1 of Super Eights, with a win against Afghanistan and two points. Bangladesh is at the bottom place, having lost their game against Australia. This one is a crucial game for them to keep their Super Eights hopes alive while India will pretty much reach the semifinals with a win over Bangladesh.

The opening pair of Rohit and Virat has not fired so far in the tournament. While Rohit has scored just 76 runs in four innings including a fifty, Virat has been extremely underwhelming after a blockbuster Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, scoring just 29 runs in four innings, with 24 as his best score.

Speaking to Star Sports, Lara said that even though pacer Mustafizur Rahman is a great bowler and will threaten India, the experienced duo will be too much for Bangladesh.

“India is going to be 100 without loss in that match if they bat first, right? And even if they bat second, they are going to be 100 without loss. Of course, Fizz (Mustafizur) is an amazing bowler. He is going to come out and threaten but I just feel that India is just too much and that roller coaster and, you know, they just seem rolling every team at the moment and that’s how I think it is going to happen,” said Lara.

“India is very concerned about the opening partnership, and they are going to fix that against Bangladesh. I do not think that Bangladesh is going to be a threat,” he added.

Lara went on to praise the opening pair, saying that they are two of the best in T20Is and they are going to give India much-needed impetus during the knockout stages. He also pointed out that the ongoing tournament has not been dominated by batters and rather it is bowlers who have been at advantage.

“I think it is (Rohit-Virat pair) is going to give India that impetus that is needed going into the back end of the tournament of the semi-finals and the finals. So, this match, I think that those two great players, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are going to come to the fore,” said Lara.

“I think the Indian team expects a good opening partnership. Everything is falling into place. This World Cup is a World Cup where no team is very dominant because of the state of the pitches. But if India can solve the opening problem, and it is not a problem, it is the two best T20 players in the world, they are not going to run right now,” he concluded.

Squads:

India Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal

Bangladesh Squad: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das(w), Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman, Jaker Ali, Tanvir Islam, Shoriful Islam, Soumya Sarkar.