Dhoni noted that Tendulkar’s presence would be missed by every member of the ODI team

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has paid tribute to veteran batsman Sachin Tendulkar after he announced his retirement from ODIs, stating that the ‘Little Master’ has been an inspiration for the entire team.

Dhoni admitted that Tendulkar had helped him develop his game substantially over the past couple of years and added that it was going to be tough to find a replacement for him.

“I learnt a lot from him whenever I got a chance to bat in the ODI (One-Day International) format,” Dhoni said. “I think his contribution is immense and it will be difficult to replace him.”

Dhoni also stated that Tendulkar’s outstanding ODI record would encourage plenty of youngsters to take up the sport with hopes of being able to represent their country in the future.

“We will also be very disappointed not to see Sachin score his 50th century and 100th half-century in the ODIs, as he had retired with a world record of 49 hundreds and 96 fifties,” Dhoni added.

Amongst all the things Dhoni picked up from Tendulkar, the India captain pointed out that the two most important lessons he learnt were how to accept defeat and how to stay humble both on and off the field.

“All these things helped me personally,” Dhoni said. “It is good that Sachin is still playing in one of the formats (Tests) as there is plenty for youngsters to learn from him.”

Dhoni further mentioned that Tendulkar’s decision to retire was made on his own and he had not, at any point in time, attempted to try and make him reconsider.

“No,” Dhoni said bluntly. “It was his personal decision and we respect it.”