Sourav Ganguly pulls Sachin Tendulkar’s leg; says ‘he batted on flat pitches’

Former India captains Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, one of India’s most famed opening partners in limited-overs cricket, have come together once again to do commentary in the ongoing cricket World Cup. The duo, now in their 40s, have reiterated their camaraderie in the commentary box and the fans are just loving it.

Ganguly and Tendulkar did Hindi commentary alongside two of their former Team India mates – Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag during the opening game between England and South Africa at the Oval on May 30 and they had a gala time, including indulgence in leg-pulling.

Ganguly explains why Tendulkar was better than the rest

Harbhajan and Sehwag asked Ganguly what was the reason that made Tendulkar better than all his contemporary greats. Ganguly’s reply to the question was: “it’s because his bat was very heavy, he had a heavy bat, batted on flat pitches, used to open in one-dayers and could bat decently as well,” IB Times reported.

“When we opened together in ODIs if he was in good form, I had to take first strike. When he wasn’t in good form, still I had to take first strike. Along with that, he could also play well. He had a lot of time while facing pace bowling and could adjust his game according to conditions, whether they were bouncy or swing and seam-friendly. That was a special ability in him.”

It may be mentioned here that during India’s tour of Australia in 2003-04 under Ganguly’s captaincy, the captain had come out ahead of the Master Blaster in a Test match in Melbourne as the latter was in a bad patch.

When the Turbanator further asked Ganguly whether he and Tendulkar shared lighter moments while opening the batting, the latter said there is a Hindi word which he could not reveal on air but when they were under pressure while opening the batting in seaming and swinging conditions, they used to joke using that word.

He also pulled Tendulkar’s legs saying the latter was holidaying in England while people like them had to work for a living. The former maestro was seen bursting out in laughter hearing the banter.