Lara believes Tendulkar still has the potential to make big scores

Amid the ongoing speculation on whether Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar should call it quits after failing to make any real impact in the last couple of series for the national team, legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara announced that there is no need to worry about the ‘Little Master’ and that he still had the ability to play for two more years.

In an interview with Indian great Kapil Dev, Lara stated that Tendulkar’s skill and class has allowed him to play more cricket than the average cricketer.

“Sachin has done a great job. He started at the age of 15-16, two years before me and is still playing five years after my retirement. This is something every Indian should be proud of, I’ve played with him many times and he is a real gentleman. He has stopped playing T20 and I don’t know how many ODIs he’ll play, but I think he’ll play Tests for a couple of years. But whenever he’ll take retirement, world cricket will miss him,” Lara said.

Lara was also asked whether current India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni should step down after leading India to consecutive overseas losses against England and Australia.

“In the last few years, he has done well. I know questions are being asked of him but only he knows when he has to go. No captain wants to be sacked, so we should allow him to decide his future,” Lara said.

Speaking about the growing popularity of Twenty20 cricket, Lara voiced his support for the format, stating that it would continue becoming a crucial part of the game in the future.

“T20 is a very interesting format; cricket needs it right now. We have seen so many exciting players in this format. I would also love to play it, but now I’m enjoying it as a spectator,” Lara added.

Lara also noted that he had retired from international cricket in order to make way for the up and coming youngsters, and not for any other reason.

“I left cricket not because I was not enjoying, but because I thought West Indies needed young players to lead them. But today’s cricketers are very different. I only see them with their headphones on when they sit in the bus and go to the stadium or hotel, we used to watch great players like Sobers, Sir Viv etc. and that is how we could evolve ourselves. I want to see that thing in current players also,” Lara said.