Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
Sachin wants Lara’s flair, Lara wants his fortitude
NEW DELHI: For the better part of 17 years that their careers overlapped, Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara divided opinions. Lara’s flair or Tendulkar’s grace? Lara’s thrill or Tendulkar’s consistency? The questions never ceased, and neither were answers found. Yet, for the two protagonists, it was always about friendship and mutual respect for each other’s craft.
In a freewheeling session at the 20th edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Saturday, the two rolled back years and shared vignettes from their illustrious careers, much to the delight of a packed house.
Seated barely a metre apart and joined by the combined tally of 56,715 international runs they scored, not to forget their shared legacies, the two put up another partnership, this of mutual admiration and perceptible respect.
Remembering their first meeting — in a hotel lobby in Toronto in 1990 — the two batting greats fondly looked back at an era long gone but revered regardless.
“There was an exhibition match in Toronto between West Indies and Rest of the World XI. I saw him in the hotel lobby, and we got along well possibly because we were the youngest players in our teams,” Tendulkar, the highest run-getter in the game’s history, said in a session moderated by HT’s managing editor Kunal Pradhan.
Tendulkar was 17 then, and yet to complete his first full season in international cricket. Lara, who had debuted the same year, was still finding his feet in a team full of generational greats. The two hit it off instantly.
“My first impression about Brian was his terrific balance, the agility at the crease to get to the pitch of the ball, and his great hands and wristwork...it’s God’s gift,” the 49-year-old gushed.
Lara duly returned the compliment, acknowledging Tendulkar’s skills against quality pace. “I had never seen an Indian batsman so accomplished against extreme fast bowling,” he said.
Asked to pick one batting trait from each other, Tendulkar marked Lara’s insatiable appetite for runs and his distinctive flair. Considering that the Trinidadian scored nine double tons in his 131-Test career, the third-highest in the game’s history, it seemed a fair choice.