Tendulkar's landmark achievement will remain forever : Sourav Ganguly

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly feels that Sachin Tendulkar's landmark achievement of 100 centuries will never be broken.Answering to a query from Gulf News on what will be the impact of Tendulkar's historic achievement, Ganguly, who is here to take part in the Emirates Airline Twenty20 tournament tomorrow, said: "It is a colossal achievement, something which I honestly feel nobody can break. I doubt in modern days anybody can play for 23 years. It is a long time with so much cricket — T20, Test and One-day. Getting to that landmark will be something unachievable."

To a query on Rahul Dravid's retirement, he said: "All good things come to an end. He has been a champion player for India. In terms of runs in Test cricket Dravid is just after Tendulkar and that just goes to show how good a player he is. He is 39 and all good things have to come to an end and those will be very big boots to fill." Ganguly, well-known for his eloquence and his strong views on the game, was at his best while talking about some of the recent debates and issues in the game.

When asked what is the quality that he saw in Tendulkar over the years that made him the greatest? Ganguly said: "It is his terrific ability as cricketer. He has gone better and better and adjusted his game to different conditions and different stages of his career. Frankly, he has been blessed with a special ability which everyone is not."

Regarding the raging debate as to whether Tendulkar is now under pressure to retire, Ganguly said: "In India, all these are stories which make one-day headlines and honestly there is no pressure on Tendulkar. He will play till the time he performs and till the time he wants to play. Let us be honest, he has earned that right and when you get to 100 international centuries obviously you have more right than others [to retire when he wants] and he deserves every bit of it."

Ganguly who was one of India's most successful captains candidly admitted that Team India is going through a tough phase. "We were unlucky in the Asia Cup, but there is nothing seriously wrong with the team. They messed up against Bangladesh, but they beat the two strong teams [Sri Lanka and Pakistan]. India played poorly in Australia and England which I am sure they will try and rectify. India will go through a rebuilding phase which has already started. I had finished about two-and-half years ago and Dravid is finished now. I don't see much longer [time] for [VVS] Laxman and then only the big man [Tendulkar] is left. So the re-building phase has already started and we will have to be a bit patient."

However, Ganguly made it a point to express that India is better than Pakistan. "India has got the better of Pakistan in the last 10 to 12 years. It was not the case during [Javed] Miandad's days and when Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were at their peak. In Sharjah, India used to get clobbered by Pakistan, but things have change over the last 10 years and India has been a better team than Pakistan."

Talking about the future and whether Virat Kohli has the potential to be the next India captain, Ganguly said: "Kohli is a terrific player, but it is too early to say whether he can be the future captain. He is a terrific One-day player and it's still early days [for him] in Test cricket because he has just played about 10 Test matches. I will judge him at the end of 50 Test matches as I believe that it is the yard stick for any cricketer. He has terrific ability and the knock against Pakistan under pressure was outstanding."

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